1.

O Meaning of open source software Open source refers to a program or software in which the source code (the form of the program when a programmer writes a program in a particular programming language) is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design free of charge. Open source code is typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share the changes within the community. The rationale for this movement is that a larger group of programmers not concerned with proprietary ownership or financial gain will produce a more useful and bug-free product for everyone to use. The concept relies on peer review to find and eliminate bugs in the program code, a process that commercially developed and packaged programs do not employ. The basics behind the Open Source Initiative is that when programmers can read, redistribute and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. Open source sprouted in the technological community as a response to proprietary software owned by corporations. Proprietary software is privately owned and controlled. In the computer industry, proprietary is considered the opposite of open. A proprietary design or technique is one that is owned by a company. It also implies that the company has not divulged specifications that would allow other companies to duplicate the product.

Meaning of Hardware
Hardware is the physical parts of the computer, e.g. The processor, memory chips and hard drive. Software is the programs and routines which run on the hardware, and firmware is software which is permanently programmed into Read Only Memory, such as the BIOS.

Meaning of software
one is application software and another is OS software. Application software is a software any body can develop it for a particular work. example in a glossary store we can have a application software for accounts, stock list but it can not be used any where other than it. OS software is a software it is developed for particular use. OS software used only for communicating between hardware & the user.

2.0 The latest open source operating system (OS) 2.1 Meaning of open source OS An open source (OS) operating system is a set of programs that schedule tasks, allocates storage and presents a default interface to the user between applications. But this OS is free, user have the right to use, modify and redistribute the software for better interoperability. 2.2 Example of open source OS Linux is very similar to other operating systems, such as Windows and OS X .Linux is developed collaboratively, meaning no one company is solely responsible for its development or ongoing support. Companies participating in the Linux economy share research and development costs with their partners and competitors. The favorites Linux OS is Linux Ubuntu, Linux Redhat, Linux Caldera. Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as
free and open source software, using its own desktop environment. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu ("humanity towards others").Ubuntu is designed primarily for use on personal computers, although a server edition also exists .Ubuntu is sponsored by the UK-based company Canonical Ltd., owned by South African entrepreneur Mark. Canonical generates revenue by selling technical support and services related to Ubuntu, while the operating system itself is entirely free of charge. The Ubuntu project is committed to the principles of free software development; people are encouraged to use free software, improve it, and pass it on.

3.0 The latest open source application software 3.1 Meaning of open source application software
Open Source software is software which is free and has source open to anyone, meaning that anyone with skills can modify and improve it, and everyone can do anything he wants with it.