According to GNU Operating System, free software requires the existence of four freedoms:
— The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
— The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
— The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
— The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
Per GNU, "To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer." This is an important distinction for those of us who came of eAge alongside Napster. It wasn't about the free(dom) of the music, but the freedom to the music.
I find the concept of Freedom Zero particularly enticing, and wonder what it's sociopolitical parallels might be. Not that free software isn't political; it very clearly is.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Freedom Zero
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4 comments:
a lot of languages have separate words for free (beer) and free (speech).
on an unrelated note, you should watch this:
http://wizards-of-os.org /index.php?id=791
(its in english)
also it's worth nothing that RMS is f-ing crazy and since 'his movement' has taken off, in a lot of cases he more of a hinderance than anything, insisting that group X or Y isn't "free" enough because of this or that reason--that is, he writes off a lot of similar groups for not sharing 100% of his ideals. don't get me wrong, the dude is awesome. (also a kook. check him out here dancing like a ass captain. can you guess which one he is? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pube5Aynsls)
for an easy to read, interesting, broad strokes overview of open source and the politics of free software, check out the cathedral and the bazar by eric s. raymond.
Wow. I've been completely out-geeked.
He's either the painfully white guy in the front or the chubby hippie dancing with the laptop, no?
And yeah, I read his list of terms that he suggest not be used and it cracked me up. Apparently the open source people are to him what vegetarians are to vegans or something?
I actually read The Cathedral and the Bazar in college and wrote a paper on it for dual credit in a two-course block called Chaos in Science and Literature (one class was Postmodern Lit and the other half was a physics class on Chaos Theory). Good stuff.
wow, that's awesome you've already read it. i read it in 10th grade, i still have it, maybe i'll insert it somewhere into my queue...
did you watch that eben mogler video? it's kind of amazing.
yeah, RMS is the jerk with the laptop.
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