We all know what is freedom of speech. Anyone can express her feelings on any topic and similarly, anyone is free to comment on others' opinions. But that does not mean that every human sound we hear is free of cost. We buy music CDs, we pay the cablewalla (or DTH walla) to listen to what people are saying around the world. We pay a fee to go to school/college to listen to the lectures, whatever worth it may be having. You have to buy a music player, even if the speech you downloaded from the website was not charged.
Now, the same applies to software. Some are totally free in all sense of the word, such as Ubuntu linux. Some are not free as in the cost, but are open source, meaning you can see what is going on inside the program, what C++ commands are utilised in doing a certain procedure etc.
If you know the language, and you discover a certain fault, you can simply correct it!
Even if you do not know a programming language, you can hire someone to change the code for you. You are FREE to do things with your copy of software.
But all software is not free. If you buy that expensive copy of Windows XP/Vista, and discover that there is a fault, you are NOT ALLOWED to correct it yourself, according to the license agreement. Only a person certified by Microsoft can touch the internal components, even if you, or your neighbour is capable of doing it. That piece of software is not 'sold' to you, it is licensed, which means you have limited rights.
But is this all important ? If you have seen computer viruses, it is easy to understand.
First, microsoft will have some vulnerability in the code. Then they will release some patches for some codes, but not all. Now, some people will come to know about these faults and they will release viruses for us. Then, to your rescue will be some antivirus companies. Without them, your computer will be gone; more so in the pen drive & internet era.
If windows would have been open source, just as a knowledgeable person discovers an error, he could upload corrective patches himself, and all computers would be shielded. There would be communities & real support for that. But that would not allow the antivirus companies to sell their products. Also, no one will approach microsoft for commercial help.
So, it is like you have your car(win XP) but if it goes wrong, only the particular mechanic, appointed by MS, can correct it, however small the problem it may be. To top it, it is ILLEGAL if you open the bonnet and see what is inside.
But linux is open-source. You own it and do whatever you like with your copy and, you can sell the improvements you do, thereby making money for yourself.
More on this and the new OFFICE-2007 xlsx,docx & pptx formats in the next post. Also, why should you support Openoffice.org & the ODF format.
www.linux.org
www.gnu.org
3 comments:
way to go!
lovely way to see the money makin heirarchy unfold....excellent analysis..great writin'..
the philosophy of linux is very nice. It relies on sharing, community-work, helping each other, and complete freedom.
In fact, "ubuntu" means "I am what I am because of who we all are", besides other things such as respect, helpfulness, caring, sharing, community, trust, unselfishness.
Using linux does not mean you lose your identity, and that you are now totally dependent on society, it means you live in an open society, which everybody tries to improve by doing his bit.
This is such fantastic line of thought, and a way of life which is already followed by quite a large no. of people throughout the world. If this could also be actually followed in one's life too, besides computers...earth would be so much better place.
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