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1.1. About Open Source
Ubuntu is a Linux-based open source operating system. The term 'open source' can be defined as a set of prin- ciples and practices that promotes access to the design and production of goods and knowledge. Open source is generally applied to the source code of software and is available to users with relaxed or no intellectual property restrictions. This enables users to distribute, create and modify software content, either individually to meet their specific requirement or collaboratively to improve the software. Both open source and Linux have transitioned through various phases to reach their present form.
The idea behind openly distributed source code is to encourage the voluntary, collaborative development of software. Users continuously enhance the software, fix bugs, develop new features and share it with others.
As a result of collaborative software development which involves a large number of programmers, users receive software that is often better in quality and performance than proprietary alternatives. Users are encouraged to customise the software to their own personal requirements, which in itself is a huge step away from the 'one size fits all' philosophy.
Open source projects call on the talents of many people with skills other than programming. Many projects involve artists, musicians, user-interface designers and documentation authors to create a complete product.