126 lines
6.0 KiB
HTML
126 lines
6.0 KiB
HTML
<!--startcut ==========================================================-->
|
|
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
|
|
<HTML>
|
|
<HEAD>
|
|
<title>The Linux Philosophy: Criticisms</title>
|
|
</HEAD>
|
|
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF"
|
|
VLINK="#A000A0"
|
|
ALINK="#FF0000">
|
|
<!--endcut ============================================================-->
|
|
|
|
<H4>
|
|
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
|
|
</H4>
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--============================================================= ======-->
|
|
|
|
<center>
|
|
<H1><font color="maroon">Free Philosophy: Criticisms</font></H1>
|
|
<H4>By <a href="mailto:jwp@awod.com">J. W. Pennington</a></H4>
|
|
</center>
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<B>What is Free Software, and Who am I?</B>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
The main problems that most people had with <A
|
|
HREF="../issue37/pennington.html"> The Beauty of
|
|
Doubt</A> was that I was discussing open source- not free- software, and that
|
|
I made it seem as though I was the spokesperson for the Free Software Movement
|
|
(FSM). Please understand that it was not my intention commit either of these
|
|
errors.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Firstly, I am not a spokesperson for the FSM anymore than any other free
|
|
software proponent. <A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/people/rms.html">Richard
|
|
Stallman</A> is the founder of the GNU foundation, and there a number of very
|
|
active <A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/people/people.html">people</A> listed on
|
|
the GNU site, as well as hundreds of people who help regularly. I am
|
|
merely a member of a very large community, one that openly accepts the work
|
|
and opinions of all- even the newest rookies- provided it is open. I wanted to
|
|
present this series as a discussion by one of these members, not as the
|
|
"Mission Statement" of the FSM. Those new to this community are urged to seek
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/">further information</A> before blindly accepting
|
|
my arguably flawed views.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Secondly, I want to assure everyone that I am indeed discussing <B>free
|
|
software</B>. I understand that <I>The Beauty of Doubt</I> only touched upon
|
|
the open source side of the coin, and most of this will be applicable to both,
|
|
but my views are meant to be specific to the free software community. I used
|
|
Netscape as an example in the final paragraph of the article. There, I was
|
|
hoping to show only that there were benefits to the free software model.
|
|
Unfortunately, I failed to mention
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/netscape-npl.html"> the problems</A>
|
|
with Netscape's public licensing policy.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
I recently heard an interview on National Public Radio (NPR) about a "new
|
|
operating system that is an alternative to Windows." The interview was with a
|
|
computer expert and discussed, of course, Linux. Ignoring for the moment the
|
|
fact that Linux is by no means <I>new</I>, just "an alternative to
|
|
Windows" (implying that Windows is somehow the only/best operating system in
|
|
existence), or that it is even an entire operating system (Linux is the
|
|
kernel), I'd like to talk about a large error made by the interviewee (whose
|
|
name I have sadly forgotten). In his description of Linux, he stated that
|
|
Linux is free software, that the "free" meant freedom, and that the source
|
|
code was available. However, he went on to say that any software for which the
|
|
source code is available is "open source" and that this and "free" software
|
|
mean the same thing. This is meaningless slip for some, but a huge error for
|
|
those in the FSC.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
For those new to the concept, <B>free software is open source, but not
|
|
all open source software is "free"</B>. I use the term free in parentheses
|
|
because the idea has little to do with money and everything to do with
|
|
freedom. <B>Open source software</B> means only that the source code for
|
|
the software is available. Fully proprietary software can be open source, a
|
|
quick perusal of the Linux Journal can show that. <B>Proprietary software</B>
|
|
is that which remains the intellectual property of the company. If I write a
|
|
proprietary program, it means that it is mine, all mine. I may charge you a
|
|
great deal of money to use it, but you are only <I>using</I> it. You only buy
|
|
the right to borrow proprietary software, you own nothing. Anyone who has
|
|
actually read a license agreement will understand this. This copyright holds
|
|
true regardless of whether or not I decide to show you how my program runs,
|
|
whether or not I show you the source code. Even if I allow you to modify the
|
|
program using the enclosed source code, it remains mine. If you look
|
|
carefully, you will discover that some companies try to tell you that any
|
|
modifications that you make belong to them as well. This is proprietary
|
|
software, open source or not, and it is something that the FSM
|
|
emphatically disagrees with.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<B>Free software</B> is quite different. If I write a program and designate it
|
|
free, then I include the code (like open source), but also relinquish
|
|
ownership. I designate the software as belonging to <I>everyone</I>. There are
|
|
a number of ways to do this, but the most often used is
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/copyleft.html"> copyleft,</A> which is a
|
|
way to use copyrighting to ensure that the software, and all of the changes
|
|
and additions, will be kept free from proprietary predators.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
For all those who want a more indepth explanation of what free software is
|
|
about, visit the GNU project's <A
|
|
HREF="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html">philosophy page.</A>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!--===================================================================-->
|
|
<P> <hr> <P> <center><H5>Copyright © 1999, J. W. Pennington <BR>
|
|
Published in Issue 39 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, April 1999</H5></center>
|
|
|
|
<!--===================================================================-->
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<A HREF="./index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif"
|
|
ALT="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/homenew.gif"
|
|
ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="./pennington.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif"
|
|
ALT=" Back "></A>
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<!--startcut ==========================================================-->
|
|
</BODY>
|
|
</HTML>
|
|
<!--endcut ============================================================-->
|