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From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source
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Open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's sources. Some consider it as a philosophy, and others consider it as a pragmatic methodology. Before open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; the term open source gained popularity with the rise of the Internet and its enabling of diverse production models, communication paths, and interactive communities. Subsequently, open source software became the most prominent face of open source.
The open source model can allow for the concurrent use of different agendas and approaches in production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies.
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What is the absolute best that the open source model has to offer? The term is usually applied to software specifically, but I'd like to use it here to refer to any community developed project whose collaborative efforts are freely available to all to use and/or modify in any not-for-profit manner; This could include content, health, politics, religion, media, etc..
| Top-ranked | Newest | A to Z | Time Travel |
1. |
 331 votes
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 Firefox 
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2. |
301 votes
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 Wikipedia
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3. |
178 votes
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 Linux (GNU/Linux)
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4. |
153 votes
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 Apache Server
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5. |
133 votes
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 Ubuntu Linux
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6. |
115 votes
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 OpenOffice
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7. |
109 votes
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 PHP
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8. |
109 votes
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 VLC
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9. |
97 votes
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 MySQL
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10. |
94 votes
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 BitTorrent
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11. |
76 votes
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 Python |
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12. |
83 votes
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 Gimp |
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13. |
74 votes
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 Eclipse |
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14. |
64 votes
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 Blender 3D |
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15. |
58 votes
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 Drupal |
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790 grupies have voted on one or more of the 199 answers. This topic was started by holotone
on June 6th, 2006. Tags: foss, open source, oss, tech
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THIS IS A STUPID TOPIC!
Digg 'em if ya got 'em!
http://digg.com/genera...Open_Source
Wikipedia, Firefox and Ubuntu are extremely close contenders. It's like having to choose best of the best. Wikipedia for me, since it covers an almost universal domain of knowledge, not just computers.
You didn't include any Online Organizer like Blue Smiley Organizer:
http://www.bookmark-manager.com/
I think TWiki (http://www.twiki.org) definitely needs to be mentioned in this list!
The list is a work in progress, and is becoming more useful and accurate as people continue to add and vote on their favorites; If something doesn't look right, help us improve the list by contributing new answers, votes, and comments...!
Ubuntu, Debian, Wikipedia, and Firefox.
Those three are tied in my mind for their outstanding innovation, contribution to the state of the global community as a whole, and the fostering of access, knowledge, and excellence.
I use Ubuntu and Debian exclusively.
^_^;; FreeBASIC is very helpful. It's made so much progress and has sped up my programming efforts very much so.
Great topic, thanks. It's great to revisit this one, and to see so many additional projects listed, some of which look pretty cool.
Really the first would be LINUX because if we count the votes of linux, ubuntu linux and debian they have more votes than firefox
Realmente debiera ser primero linux porque sumando los votos de linux, ubuntu linux y debian suman mas que firefox
I'm surprised that the GPL still hasn't made it to the front page yet; come on people!
@hajush: I wholeheartedly agree; it's fun to come back to and check up on. I've found out about a bunch of cool projects that i wouldn't have otherwise
@k40s
Well.... Technically Linux is solely the kernel itself, a project in it's own right. When people usually talk about GNU/Linux as an OS, however, it's no longer a single project. I consider the answer for Debian as a project which utilizes the Linux kernel (or the HURD, the BSD kernel, etc.), and then Linux as a project in it's own right which is *just* the kernel development team.
G-P-L!
For those who missed the news:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gpl3#Version_3
This topic is really a cool digest of interesting projects. A cool place where find projects I didn't know yet. Continue to add more of them!
I love this list, I'm going to add some more to it as I find em. I can't believe Paint.NET wasn't on there, it's a pretty impressive alternative to GIMP. Ever since I went to Paint.NET I never looked back at GIMP again.. hehe
Feel free to add it...
I can't believe that so many of these answers are not even open source
Yea, but there are a LOT that are.
@davidthedrake
right you are, dave, but a giving an answer like "del.icio.us" to the question "Best Open Source Project?" is like answering the question "Best Restaurant in Town?" with "Home Depot"
*shrug* Mark the answer as irrelevant then. With enough votes, it'll get hidden from view.
The tools are there, just gotta use them. ;)
Well, the description states that it doesn't have to be specifically GPL'd software, but simply any project that uses the "open source model" i.e. collaborative, open information sharing. I would say that del.icio.us or grupthink fit this description.
very interesting list - more can be find at http://www.howtobuildw...list-review
Thanks for starting this topic! I hadn't known about a lot of these. :o)
This topic is great and very helpful.