Free software

("FOSS" and "free and open source" redirect here. For the K–8 science curriculum, see Full Option Science System. For hardware, see Open-source hardware. For other uses, see Foss.) Free and open-source software (FOSS) is computer software that can be classified as both free software and open-source software.

A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC /muːk/) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web.

The Free Software Definition written by Richard Stallman and published by Free Software Foundation (FSF), defines free software as being software that ensures that the end users have freedom in using, studying, sharing and modifying that software.

Copyleft (a play on the word copyright) is the practice of offering people the right to freely distribute copies and modified versions of a work with the stipulation that the same rights be preserved in derivative works down the line.

Free software, freedom-respecting software, or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute the software and any adapted versions.

(For a broader coverage related to this topic, see Open-source movement.) Open-source software (OSS) is computer software with its source code made available with a license in which the copyright holder provides the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.

An open standard is a standard that is publicly available and has various rights to use associated with it, and may also have various properties of how it was designed (e.g. open process).

Commons-based peer production is a term coined by Harvard Law School professor Yochai Benkler.

A free and open-source graphics device driver is a software stack that controls computer graphics hardware and supports graphics rendering APIs and is released under a Free and open source software license.

In the Russian language the word glasnost (Russian: гла́сность, IPA: [ˈɡlasnəsʲtʲ] ) has several general and specific meanings.

The OLPC XO, previously known as the $100 Laptop, Children's Machine, and 2B1, is an inexpensive laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world, to provide them with access to knowledge, and opportunities to "explore, experiment and express themselves" (constructionist learning).

An open system is a system that has external interactions.

Open-source software is widely used both as independent applications and as components in non-open-source applications.

iTVmediaCenter (also known as “iTV Media Center”) is a community-powered Internet TV Web portal, owned by BitMar Networks, that—as per its official website description (iTVmediaCenter.com) -- provides access to millions of movies and shows (mostly free and in High-definition), over 200,000 channels, live radio and millions of songs (all in one single place.) iTVmediaCenter seems to be aiming at becoming the free alternative to expensive Cable TV, Satellite TV, Netflix, Hulu, among others.

The open-source model is a more decentralized model of production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies.

The Open Goldberg Variations is a non-profit project that created a high quality studio recording and typeset score of Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations, and placed them directly into the public domain.

The use of free software instead of proprietary software can give institutions better control over information technology.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to free software and the free software movement: Free software – software which can be run, studied, examined, modified, and redistributed freely (without any cost).

Open-source software development is the process by which open-source software, or similar software whose source code is publicly available, is developed.

Basic For Qt (formerly KBasic) is the name of an object-oriented version of the BASIC programming language as well as an integrated development environment.

Opposition to software patents is widespread in the free software community.

The Colony Framework is an open source plugin framework specification.