Linux is an Operating System. Much like Windows Vista, or Unix. It is the software that controls our access to the Hardware. Unlike Windows Vista, Linux is not owned by any particular individual or company. Linux is part of the Open Source Movement, in that all of the programme code that makes its way into Linux is freely available for use and reuse.

People tend to assume that the code is written by a band of volunteers burning midnight oil. In reality the code is written by both paid and unpaid individuals, many of whom work full time for major corporations. The common thread is that all of these individuals and organisations have donated thier work to the Open Source movement, typically under a special license called the GPL.

If you are new to Linux and Open Source, then you might have been attracted to it because of the availability of free software. You will also quickly appreciate that Open Source is not really about free software but "freedom". Freedom from having to use what manufacturers and vendors deem are good for you. Freedom from being constrained by functionality of a given package, cause if you dont like it you can change it yourself, the source code is there. Freedom of choice, cause if you dont like it you dont have to use it. There is no one trying to sell you something, no one with an alternative agenda.

But just like the culture that we live in, freedom only comes from participation. If you dont vote, you dont have a right to complain.  Participation is what differentiates the Open Source movement from the "User" "vendor" model of the closed source world.  In Open Source we do not have "users" but "members". We are often referred to as the "community". Because of this participation culture, there is a direct linkage between Open Source and the collaborative nature of the Web.

The moment you start using Open Source Software you are participating. By downloading, reporting bugs, making suggestions , asking for help, documenting successes, or making donations you are making a difference to the gals and guys that write this stuff.

When I was still at school, I had it in my mind that the world was black and white. I thought that things were right or wrong. There was only one correct answer to a question. Over the years I have realized that the world is all about shades, and that what is right depends on the answer that you want.

Open Source is like that. It's different, its an acquired taste, but like smelly cheese, or seafood, you, and ony you will know when you cant live without it. Because somehow without it the world just seems so bland and colourless. So is it better. There you go again.....

Lets not pretend that the Open Source community is one big "love-in" either. Just like real cultures and communities, we have our differences, sometimes we can resolve those differences, but most of the time we declare independence, and create alternative projects with their own aims and aspirations. Its often referred to as the Bazzar model for software development. Its multicultural, and multi ethnic. Its not top down, more bottom up in its approach.

This Healthy debate is most obvious in Linux Desktop choices. Gnome and KDE give you the same but from different points of view. Open Source purists would argue that KDE is not true Open Source, KDE purists would argue that they are, but offer a model where the code can be commercially supported. The point is that you as a "user" can choose.

Eric S raymond first proposed some of these observations in his book the Cathedral and the Bazaar.

Critics will argue that it is disorganised and disfunctional, its chaotic and can not produce code that works. They are missing the point. From chaos comes choice, from choice we have natural selection. A Darwinian evolution of code and methods of interaction where the good stuff sticks, and the clag twists.

There is no end point, no target date for release's, just small but frequent improvements. That is why there are so many distributions of Linux, each with their own aims. You might like to have a look at the list of Linux distributions

There are thousands of people out there busy contributing to the Open Source movement on a daily basis. They volunteer their time and money because they want to, not becaus they have to. Its passion that drives them, not the green stuff. But that does not make them any less concerned about having other people make money out of their work or ideas. They are also no less able to come up with ideas or inventions than corporations. Indeed, necessity is the mother of Open Source.

Opens Source software is most typically released under a license called  the GPL
Surly no one would be so calous as to take advantage? Well this has come to a head in recent years with the SCO vs IBM law suit, often referred to as the Linux Wars. SCO has turned from poacher to game keeper. Have a look at Groklaw to see what a circus this has become.

The status quo feel threatened by the Open Source movement. They think that free software will take away their livelyhood. The more astute coporations are embracing the model, rather than fighting it. They recognise that while business models have not fully emerged, they will surface. Look at Google, IBM and Oracle. All busy embracing while at the same time finding ways to make money around Open Source.