Open source is all about innovation through free collaboration and sharing of knowledge. Open source is strongly related to computer programs, but you can also think of non-computer-program-related cooking recipes as an open source.

The idea of open source is collaborate and share things for free, with money-making endeavor as only a secondary motive. However, you can generate money in open source, though, mainly done by companies offering services and support, as well as from happy users’ donation. Due to this openness, open source can access plenty of resources, unlike closed source. Popular open source software include Linux, WordPress, Mozilla Firefox and Android.

Looking into the future, here comes open cloud – open source meets cloud technologies: OpenStack allows you to build your own cloud; Facebook shares its efficient ways in dealing with the data centers in Open Compute Project; VMware releases Cloud Foundry, an open Platform as a Service (PaaS) to build, deploy and run cloud apps.

For a complete view of the whole open source story, check out this Rackspace infographic:

Via Rackspace