This month marks 30 years since Richard Stallman posted his GNU manifesto outlying the idea for a free operating system.
There a good article about it by the new Yorker I though people would like, espeicaly with all the new GNU/Linux users :)
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-gnu-manifesto-turns-thirty
You can read the full manifesto here http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html
(Edit I'd love to see this subsection changed to GNU/Linux :p I know.. You all hate me now )
Edit number 2: :D
Now that im not on my mobile.
Richard Stallman for those who don't know, and these who don't like long reads is the creator of Free Software and the person who made what Linux is and GNU/Linux and the whole open source/free software world possible in its current form.
He created the GNU manifesto in an effort to create a completely free operating system, free from propietory contraints and givng control over your hardware and software to the user.
The GNU Manifesto GNU, which stands for Gnu's Not Unix, is the name for the complete Unix-compatible software system which I am writing so that I can give it away free to everyone who can use it.(1) Several other volunteers are helping me. Contributions of time, money, programs and equipment are greatly needed. [...]
They everntually created an almost complete OS and with finally adding the Linux kernel when it was released finished (if you can say that) the basis of a completely free OS GNU/Linux
Free Software and the 4 essential freedoms were defined, which lay out the requirements that a peice of software has to adhear to to be considered Free Sfotware. Its entire goal to preserve the freedoms given to a user
A program is free software if the program's users have the four essential freedoms:
- The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom
0).- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does
your computing as you wish (freedom 1).- The freedom to redistribute copies so you c an help your neighbor
(freedom 2).- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others
(freedom 3).
Free Software is not something that's generally welcomed by companies and corporations because (>personal unsubstantiated opinion<) it very much takes away control from the corporation and puts it firmly in the hands of the user. This is one of the major reason for the creation of Open Source, a term that focuses very much on the code and not the protection of the user.
Free Software is a philosophy as well as technical achievement. At the end of the day its purpose is to protect the users freedoms when they go about their business and go around the world using the technology around them. It is there to keep us firmly in control of the software we use and not in the control of the people who created it.