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The open source development and distribution model has been gaining attention, and for good reason. It provides a powerful way to rapidly make ever-better software, for most any computer type and architecture. It furthermore provides a unique opportunity to continually improve software quality and stability unlike any development model before it.
 Licensing and open source
Nearly all non-commercial, and some commercial, software for Linux is released under the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL) or Library GNU Public License (LGPL). Like the Linux kernel itself, this means that the source code of such software is freely available on the Internet, or is available on CD-ROM in exchange for a minimal fee, in source code and binary (executable) form.
The typical Linux distribution is made up of software originally created by members of the Free Software Foundation (also called "GNU"), hence the alternative name "GNU/Linux". The Free Software Foundation is still at the heart of the open source movement. It also created the GPL as well as its cousin license, the Library GNU Public License (LGPL).
The open source model
The idea of open source is simple, yet intrinsically powerful. By making source code freely available, developers around the world can download and examine the code, making suggestions and improvements to the code and in turn making the modifications freely available for yet more suggestions and improvements. In this way, the potential pool of developers is enormous, dwarfing the potential resources of any individual company or group. The end result is better, more stable, more efficient code--in other words, simply better software.
An important side effect is that open source software, while in the long term superior in quality, is also drastically cheaper than commercial software. Since the GPL license by definition requires that the source code and its modifications be freely available, anyone can download and install it on most any computer (or port it to a new type of computer, should such work be needed).
The open source development model is bearing fruit practically everywhere, most especially in the area of networking software. As mentioned above, the open source web server software Apache is running on more web servers than all other software types combined, and Apache is known for its stability, flexibility, extensibility and efficiency. Samba, an SMB network server for Windows(R) computers, is also well-known for its stability and superiority to Windows-native solutions.
Other more recent projects are also rapidly gaining on or overtaking similar commercial or closed-source systems. The KDE and GNOME desktop environments, though only having relatively recently the initial 1.0 release stage, are both recognized for their quality, stability and ease of use, rivalling Windows.
We at TheKompany.com are proud to fully support and participate in the open source movement. We hope you will join us in actively helping to make open source work and make Linux continue on its rise to being the premiere operating system for any computer and any user.
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About Open Source
TheKompany.com is a growing and rapidly developing company with a focus on multi-platform software for enterprise, developers and embedded devices. Find out how you can help on the jobs page or the projects page.
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