Open Culture/Technology

Technology, the most visible part of the Open Culture movement can be most easily illustrated in the field of both computer software and hardware.

A branch of the Free Software movement known as Open Source software is a commonly-cited example. As in all cases of "free" culture the free software and open source movements are founded on a premise whereby the user is not restricted in the use of the software. The user is encouraged to build upon what has gone before without any fear of being restricted by legal or ethical constraints.

Many users of free software from around the world are able to contribute to the development of applications that are useful, so it is in effect not a single company that creates software for the customers but customers that contribute to making useful and efficient software for themselves as part of a community and society.

Examples

Common examples of this technology include the GNU/Linux Operating System, the Mozilla Firefox web browser, and the LibreOffice office suite. Other examples of this include WordPress, Apache, VLC, Blender, and others. Each of those applications have very significant shares in their respective markets and may pose a threat to their traditional, proprietary competitors.