2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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FRS
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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// , n.,obs. [obs.] Abbreviation for Freely Redistributable Software which
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entered general use on the Internet in 1995 after years of low-level
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confusion over what exactly to call software written to be passed around and
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shared (contending terms including freeware , shareware , and sourceware
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were never universally felt to be satisfactory for various subtle reasons).
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The first formal conference on freely redistributable software was held in
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Cambridge, Massachussetts, in February 1996 (sponsored by the Free Software
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Foundation). The conference organizers used the FRS abbreviation heavily in
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its calls for papers and other literature during 1995. The term was in
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steady though not common use until 1998 and the invention of open source ,
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after which it became swiftly obsolete.
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