Why is free software important Richard Stallman in INT #39;s ENLIGHTENMENT MINUTES
By: Faik musliu
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Why is free software important Richard Stallman in INT's ENLIGHTENMENT MINUTES - Video
Richard Stallman announced in September 1983 the plan to develop a free software Unix-like operating system called GNU. GNU is the only operating system developed specifically for the sake of users' freedom.
GNU is a Unix-like operating system that is free softwareit respects your freedom. You can install versions of GNU (more precisely, GNU/Linux systems) which are entirely free software. What we provide.
The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop the GNU system. The name GNU is a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix!. GNU is pronounced g'noo, as one syllable, like saying "grew" but replacing the r with n.
A Unix-like operating system is a software collection of applications, libraries, and developer tools, plus a program to allocate resources and talk to the hardware, known as a kernel.
The Hurd, GNU's own kernel, is some way from being ready for daily use. Thus, GNU is typically used today with a kernel called Linux. This combination is the GNU/Linux operating system. GNU/Linux is used by millions, though many call it Linux by mistake.
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.
Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:
Can you contribute to any of these High Priority Projects? Gnash, coreboot, free distributions of GNU/Linux, GNU Octave, drivers for network routers, reversible debugging in GDB, automatic transcription, PowerVR drivers, and also free software replacements for Skype, OpenDWG libraries, and Oracle Forms.
Can you take over an unmaintained GNU package? dap, gleem, gnatsweb, gnukart, groff, halifax, indent, jwhois, metahtml, orgadoc, polyxmass, superopt, teximpatient, trueprint, are all looking for maintainers. Also, these packages are looking for co-maintainers: aspell, gnuae, metaexchange, powerguru. See the package web pages for more information.
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GNU - Official Site
The Free Software Directory is a catalog of useful free software that runs under free operating systems. FSF staff and volunteers work together to collect detailed information about free software programs and organize it in a clear and accessible format.
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. Think of "free" as in "free speech," not as in "free beer." Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.
If so, visit our Participate page to find out how you can get started today.
List of all categories
List of more featured projects
The Free Software Directory is a project of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). We catalog useful free software that runs under free operating systems particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants.
Licenses are verified for each and every program listed in this directory.
If you are looking for a full operating system for your computer, please see our recommendations for complete GNU/Linux systems.
The FSF provides this directory as a service to the free software community. Please consider donating to the FSF to help support this project.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the page GNU Free Documentation License.
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Free Software Directory
Accounting software Free personal finance software, free accounting programs, free invoicing software and free accounting scripts.
Anti-virus software Free virus scanners, free firewalls, free trojan scanners, email protection, anti-rootkit software and many other security related resources.
Anti-spyware Free spyware scanners and related information.
Business services and software E-commerce tools, virtual cash services, online auctions, escrow services, free virtual conference rooms, free chat/phone/video/messaging, business-to-business portals, online stock trading, currency conversion, exchange rates.
CAD software CAD & CAD/CAM software, computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis, dynamic simulation software, thermal analysis software, utility programs, online calculators.
Calculators and converters General purpose calculators, calculator collections, scientific/technical calculators, currency conversion and exchange rates.
Clocks, alarms & time Free online clocks, free clock programs which you can install, clock screensavers, clock widgets for your Website or blog, alarms and timers, time-related utilities, free project and time-scheduling software.
Drivers and dll's Find DLL's, drivers, graphics drivers, sound-card drivers, CD-Rom drivers, network drivers, printer drivers and bios upgrades.
Electronics & software Free PCB design tools, free circuit design & simulation tools, free electronic circuits, connector and pinout reference, vacuum tubes, tesla coils, radio, electronics parts, datasheets digital signal processing, microprocessors, microcontrollers, robotics, tutorials, news and other resources.
Encryption and security utilities Free file and disk encryption, free email encryption, data wiping tool, steganography, password managers, firewalls, free anonymous surfing, computer vulnerability tests, free security suites and more security related Websites & resources.
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Freebyte! - Your Guide to the Web. Freeware, shareware ...
Also see Confusing Words which You Might Want to Avoid.
This diagram, originally by Chao-Kuei and updated by several others since, explains the different categories of software. It's available as a Scalable Vector Graphic and as an XFig document, under the terms of any of the GNU GPL v2 or later, the GNU FDL v1.2 or later, or the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike v2.0 or later.
Free software is software that comes with permission for anyone to use, copy, and/or distribute, either verbatim or with modifications, either gratis or for a fee. In particular, this means that source code must be available. If it's not source, it's not software. This is a simplified description; see also the full definition.
If a program is free, then it can potentially be included in a free operating system such as GNU, or free versions of the GNU/Linux system.
There are many different ways to make a program freemany questions of detail, which could be decided in more than one way and still make the program free. Some of the possible variations are described below. For information on specific free software licenses, see the license list page.
Free software is a matter of freedom, not price. But proprietary software companies typically use the term free software to refer to price. Sometimes they mean that you can obtain a binary copy at no charge; sometimes they mean that a copy is bundled with a computer that you are buying, and the price includes both. Either way, it has nothing to do with what we mean by free software in the GNU project.
Because of this potential confusion, when a software company says its product is free software, always check the actual distribution terms to see whether users really have all the freedoms that free software implies. Sometimes it really is free software; sometimes it isn't.
Many languages have two separate words for free as in freedom and free as in zero price. For example, French has libre and gratuit. Not so English; there is a word gratis that refers unambiguously to price, but no common adjective that refers unambiguously to freedom. So if you are speaking another language, we suggest you translate free into your language to make it clearer. See our list of translations of the term free software into various other languages.
Free software is often more reliable than nonfree software.
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Categories of Free and Nonfree Software - GNU Project - Free ...