Free Software
The GNU project uses software that is free for users to copy, edit, and distribute. It is free in the sense that users can change the software to fit individual needs. The way programmers obtain the free software depends on where they get it. The software could be provided to the programmer from friends or over the Internet, or the company a programmer works for may purchase the software. Proceeds from purchases support the GNU project. GNU has four kinds of freedom for the software:
- Freedom to run the program
- Freedom to access the code
- Freedom to redistribute the program to anyone
- Freedom to improve the software
Read more about this topic: GNU Project
Famous quotes containing the word free:
“Freedom of enterprise was from the beginning not altogether a blessing. As the liberty to work or to starve, it spelled toil, insecurity, and fear for the vast majority of the population. If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economic subject, the disappearance of this freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilization.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)