Free Software Essay

This is an essay that I did for my English class recently. It was supposed to be informative, what do you think?

Imagine a world in which computer software was free. Now, imagine a world where software can be modified in whatever way the user desires. This is the world of free software. Free software has been touted as an evil entity by large companies, such as Microsoft, but these companies often use lies and miscommunication to make free software seem like it is an evil entity trying to steal form people that work hard and get paid to make software. Free software was designed to give people freedom in choice for the software that they used, and freedom to do what they wanted to with it. (Glynn)

Free software is defined as software that everybody is free to copy, redistribute and modify the source code. When most people think of the term, “free software,” they think of free as in beer. But free software means more than that; free software is frequently, as in cost, but also in what people can do with it. Most free software is released under the General Public License (GPL), which means that they have four basic freedoms with the software. The first freedom is the freedom to run the program, for any purpose. What this means is that free software isn’t limited by who pays for it, as software often is. Free software can be used by anybody as long as they have a computer. Free software doesn’t restrict how many copies can be run on a network or who can run it. The second freedom is the freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it it, access to the source code is necessary for this. In other words, anybody can modify the source code of any free software program to add, modify, or delete functionality. Source code is the framework behind computer programs, and being able to modify it is a necessity for free software. The third freedom is the freedom to redistribute copies so that anybody can help their neighbor. This freedom allows people to give away as many copies of free software as they want to and to whomever. The final freedom is the freedom to improve the program and release their improvements to the public, so that the free software community benefits. This freedom builds on the second freedom, the freedom to study how a program works. The final freedom is important, because not only does it allow anybody to modify the source code, but it also allows them to share it with others (“The free software definition”).

One of the primary values behind free software is giving people the right to learn, and sharing what they learn with others. The people that run and are apart of groups such as, the Free Software foundation and the GNU project, are often very devoted to what they think about software; often people that use free software solely use free software on their computers (“What is free software and why is it so important for society?”). The users of free software are often opposed to any program or entity that will tell them how to use their software. There are many “clones” of proprietary, software which does not have the source code available, which are free and open source. The maker’s of these “clones” are often sued by companies that make the original software. The legality of producing a software clone is debatable. There are people that will vehemently defend both sides. The users and creators of free software, who are often put into a bad light by makers of proprietary software, believe that software should be able to be modified, free, and redistributable.

Free software is often given away for no fee, besides the time that the user puts into it. People often ask how companies that make and distribute free software make money. One of the forms of funding for free software is by hard copies of their custom GNU/Linux operating system. Many companies, such as Canonical with Ubuntu and Mandriva S.A. with Mandriva, offer free downloads of their “distribution” of GNU/Linux, but they also offer the option to buy a CD or a flash drive with the operating system preloaded. Another way that they make money is by selling computers preloaded with the software, technical support for the software, and other various products. When the term free is used, many people think that the product isn’t going to cost any money, but that is not how the free software community sees this. The free software community sees the term as a use of what a user can do with the software. Anybody can sell free software as long as they also provide a free download for the same software. But companies, like Red Hat with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell with Suse Linux Enterprise, have found a way to capitalize on this freedom. These companies offer free downloads of their software, but they also offer much more that can be bought.

With free software a user can do whatever they want with their computer, and not be limited by what a company says that they can do. Many people have switched from using proprietary products such as Microsoft Windows to GNU/Linux, and haven’t gone back. If more companies had the free software mindset, wouldn’t they end up releasing a better product?

Works Cited Page

Moody, Glyn. “LXer: A Brief History of Microsoft FUD.” LXer: Linux News. 30 March 2006. LXer. 10 Aug 2008 <http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/57261/index.html>.

“The free software definition.” GNU Operating System. 20 March 2008. Free Software Foundation. 7 Aug 2008 <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>

“What is free software and why is it so important for society?.” fsf.org. 14 April 2008. Free Software Foundation. 7 Aug 2008 <http://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software>.

~ by jakeneumann on August 10, 2008.