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What is Free and Open Source Software?

Submitted by richard on Tue, 2006-07-04 16:57.


Did you know the MediaShed is completely run using 'Free Open Source Software' (FOSS) and 'Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment' (WEEE)?



Across the world experts have been creating software for themselves and sharing it, free of charge. The sharing system ropes in other experts to fix bugs and make improvements. This software isn't amateurish or second-rate - a recent government study has concluded that Linux, the leading free “Open Source” operating system, is so efficient that it doubles the useful life of computers. High-tech companies have been using it for years – Google runs on Linux.

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS and OSS) is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve software. It is usually free in price and available on-line for download although some people charge for services or for additions to be made to the software.




What is Free Open Source Software and why is it so important?


  • Did you know that 63% of web pages are hosted by FOSS software such as Apache and many are running on FOSS based Linux servers?
  • Local authorities in the UK are embracing Linux and other Open Source operating systems and applications. A study by the Society of IT Managers talked to 99 organisations - 41 District councils, 12 County councils, 16 Unitary councils, 13 London Boroughs and 17 other public bodies such as police or housing and found that Open Source operating systems are being used for infrastructure in 39% of organisations while 34% of organisations are using Open Source applications.
  • In 2004, Bristol City Council decided to move their IT provision over to open source software which resulted in a saving of about £1.4M.
  • FOSS software is more secure then proprietary systems due to the extreme scrutiny of the source code before being deployed. It is less expensive to manage (no maintenance contracts or upgrade costs) and is less vulnerable to viruses.
  • A recent government study has concluded that Linux, the leading Free Open Source operating system, is so efficient that it doubles the useful life of computers. The MediaShed regularly gains an extra four years life out of donated computer hardware.
  • BECTA (The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) supports all four of the UK government education departments in their strategic ICT developments. In May 2005 it published a report called "Open Source Software in Schools: A study of the spectrum of use and related ICT infrastructure costs" which evaluated the use of Open Source software (OSS) within a small number of schools. The report demonstrated that employing OSS in schools whilst it needs careful planning and support, can offer a 50% cost-saving and is a viable alternative to proprietary software (http://www.becta.org.uk).
  • The Joint Information Systems Committee funded by the UK Further and Higher Education Funding Councils has issued its own set of guidelines in which documentation, graphics, sound, data and other files must, wherever possible and practicable, use open standards. In effect this means using OSS software and standards derived from the public domain. The Media shed in its use, promotion and distribution of free-media systems is ahead of the curve and creating an exciting opportunity for Southend (http://www.jisc.ac.uk, http://www.schoolforge.org.uk).






Informal FOSS training is a major component of what we do at the MediaShed. We also host the Southend Linux Users Group who are great advocates for building networks out of trash computers and free software in their spare time. They hold regular Thursday evening sessions – so don't throw that old computer in a landfill site – come and recycle it into a new life.





The MediaShed creates an informal space for ICT training using FOSS. Participants can come and learn how to use FOSS software for their projects every Thursday to Saturday. We can help individuals and community groups turn waste electronic technologies into useful items for themselves or for their organisations. Anyone can propose a new free-media project or a training theme.