Updegrove: A Concise Introduction to Free and Open Source Software
Andy Updegrove introduces free and open source software in a post on his blog. The blog version is the introduction of a longer article that seeks to give an overall summary of what FOSS is and how it came about for audiences that may have heard of it, but are not really up on what it is. "
That movement questions the utility and fairness of many traditional copyright and patent-based legal restrictions, and seeks to liberate information for the benefit of all. In the case of FLOSS, it also articulates a set of ethical rules intended not only to foster free access, but also to inspire — and in some cases require — those that benefit from such access to contribute their own modifications and additions to FLOSS back to the common weal as well."