History of Free software (1983 – Today)

History

In 1983, Richard Stallman launched the GNU project after becoming frustrated with the effects of the change in culture of the computer industry and users. One incident was when a printer wouldn't work but he couldn't hack the source code to fix the problem because it was withheld. Software development for the GNU operating system began in January 1984, and Free Software Foundation (FSF) was founded in October 1985. He introduced a free software definition and "copyleft", designed to ensure software freedom for all. [1] Some reacted strongly against Stallman's position as idealistic nonsense and he was strongly mocked and criticised.[citation needed]

To help distinguish libre (freedom) software from gratis (zero price) software, Richard Stallman, founder of the free software movement, developed the following explanation: "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'". More specifically, free software means that computer users have the freedom to cooperate with whom they choose, and to control the software they use. The GNU Manifesto contains language that gives evidence of Stallman's initial confusion with the usage.

The capitalized term "Open source" is attached to a definition originally created in 1998 from Debian's free software guidelines. While most open source software is also free software and vice-versa, this is not always the case. Other alternative terms for free software include "Free and Open-source Software" (FOSS) and Free/Libre/Open-source Software (FLOSS).

The free BSD-based operating systems, such as FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD, use the same definition of free software, but they differ in interpretation about copyleft. Users of these systems often see copyleft as being over-restrictive to the point of being an encroachment on their freedom. The Kerberos, X.org and Apache software licenses are substantially similar in intent and implementation. All of these software packages originated in academic institutions interested in the widest possible technology transfer (University of California, MIT, and UIUC).

Present

Free software is a huge international effort, producing software used by individuals, large organisations, and even political administrations. Free software's current strength is in system software and basic user applications where there is little competitive choice in the market (such OS software, Internet browsing, and office productivity software). It is important to note, however, that the user base among individuals using prominent free software (such as the GNU/Linux operating system) is often only a fraction of the size of their proprietary competitors. Most free software is distributed online without charge, or off-line at the marginal cost of distribution, but this is not required, and people may sell copies for any price.

The economic advantages of the free software model are beginning to be recognised, even by some media sources [citation needed]. Also, some other industries — that is, non-software industries — are beginning to recognise the value of free software's message too: scientists, for example, are looking towards more open development processes, and hardware such as microchips are beginning to be developed under Copyleft licenses (see the OpenCores project, for instance). The Creative Commons and free culture movements have also been largely influenced by free software.

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