They do not <i>mean</i> the same thing. They are often <i>coincidentally</i> the same thing, but philosophically they are not the same:<p>&quot;Why &#x27;Free Software&#x27; is better than &#x27;Open Source&#x27;&quot;: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gnu.org&#x2F;philosophy&#x2F;free-software-for-freedom.en.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gnu.org&#x2F;philosophy&#x2F;free-software-for-freedom.en.h...</a><p>(Note: the title is not mine)