What is it?
This is about open source software. It's by no means necessary to know this in order to work with the library computers! This is something extra, something for those who might want to empower themselves by becoming a little more aware.
As throughout this site, we're keeping it simple. For those wanting more complete, technical, and exact info concerning open source, the internet is saturated with information -- go have a look around. Check out Wikipedia, an "open" encyclopedia. Try a Startpage search.
Hardware and Software
The computer or iPad you see before you is hardware. You can touch it. You can feel it. It's tangible. Software is intangible, like the thoughts we think. Both hardware and software are necessary. One without the other is as good as having nothing.
A software program is basically a bunch of commands or instructions that tell the computer what to do. Tap an icon on a screen and you have issued a command, you have given the computer an instruction. These instructions are written in a language the computer understands, called code.
Think recipes
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something to eat. When you eat a cake you don't see the recipe behind the taste, texture, and smell. You don't need to know the recipe. A professional baker might be interested in finding out a recipe or might even be able to guess what the recipe is. Even so, an ordinary person without a clue as to the ingredients may enjoy the cake just as much as the professional does.
The ingredients of a cake in computer software terms would be called variables. Part of the recipe defines these variables, the flour, water, salt and other ingredients. Then come the instructions, how much flour to use, what to mix it with, when to add the salt, and how hot to cook or bake.
Proprietary
Think of this recipe as the cake's source, if you will. Some recipes are secret. The recipe for Coca Cola for example, is a trade secret. You can drink all the Coke you want, but you are not allowed to go make your own. Its formula is hidden, closed to the public, owned by Coca Cola. In computer software terms, this would be called closed source, or proprietary software. For proprietary, think private property, someone owns it controls its use.
Open
Of course, there are recipes anyone can find and use freely in cookbooks or on the internet. You can try them out yourself. You are also free to modify the recipe to suit your needs. Maybe you like things sweeter or spicier, or need to avoid salt. You can start with the original recipe and tailor it to your taste and requirements. In computer software terms, this recipe would be called open source. You are free to work with it, customize it, and uniquely tailor it to what is essential for you. In the spirit of share and share alike, you can then share the new recipe you've created, and someone else may take it in a new direction.
Freedom
Free is a tricky word to use because it can mean free as in free of charge, meaning no cost, or it can mean free as in free of restrictions, meaning you can do what you want. In open source, free means free as in freedom, not free as in free of charge. Be aware there are a lot of fine, legal distinctions but these are way beyond our scope here.
Even though free in open source refers to freedom, it turns out that a lot of open source apps are free of charge too. They are also free of strings attached such as advertisements, or pop-up messages urging an upgrade to a pay version. Firefox, Gimp, VLC, LibreOffice and many other open source apps are all free of charge. BodhiLinux, the Linux operating system that the library computers use, is free of charge, as are all the apps it runs.
Many open source apps and operating systems such as the ones used in the library are created by communities. Because the code is not hidden, open for anyone to see, individuals can test, brainstorm, and contribute, and do so often on a global scale. There are many advantages to software developed under this open source model, and a lot of excellent software programs have come from it. There is also a lot of excellent proprietary software, such as Apple's iOS, that has evolved from a different, closed model. Whether you prefer one or the other or like both models, having options is certainly a delight.
Examples
A few examples of open source software include the Google developed Android mobile operating system, the Firefox web browser, and the LibreOffice office suite. Comparative closed source or proprietary software includes Apple's iOS, the Internet Explorer web browser, and the Microsoft Office office suite.
Summing up
Essentially, "open" and "open source" constitute a whole different paradigm. At the root of this paradigm is community and sharing.