On Fri, 2002-12-27 at 15:41, rob wrote: > What does this mean and why do I keep seeing it in connection with any > discussion of Linux?....."free (as in beer)"? > When discussing Free Software, you will often hear free used in two ways. Free (as in beer) and Free (as in speech).
Free (as in beer) means no cost. "Free Beer! Yeeehhaaaa" Free (as in speech) is best described in this excerpt from the Free Software Foundation web site: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html 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: * 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. I hope this answers your immediate question. You may want to do a bit more reading about Free Software at the GNU/Free Software Foundation website as mentioned above to understand more about the issues. Kind regards, John...
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