This document discusses why cloud computing needs to adopt free and open source software (FOSS) principles. It provides a brief history of computing beginning with mainframes and virtualization in the 1960s. It discusses how software was initially free but later became proprietary. The document advocates for open standards and open source platforms like OpenStack to avoid vendor lock-in and allow for innovation. The author argues users want flexibility and freedom of choice in the cloud, which open source and open standards can provide.