Reply #2: A simple way to understand Open Source:

[NYC_SKP]

Without being too technical:

Imagine if school textbooks were all online and people could share and revise independently and/or collectively, leaving the originals intact and available.

Imagine any Microsoft program legal and free to modify and share, with attribution.

How much better and available might textbooks become?

How much better and available might Microsoft programs become?

It goes something like that, except with computer code, software, things like that.

A version of it allows people to develop iPhone apps by becoming a developer for a small fee and working with Apple code.

It's a model of intellectual property rights and innovation that allows greater freedom and more rapid advancements without keeping people from earning a buck.

Originally about computer code, it seems to be extending in spirit to a number of endeavors and fields: arts, literature, music, invention.

Here's a great page: http://opensource.com/

At least this is what I think when someone says, "Open Source".

Techies and others may have different definitions.

:patriot: