Net-Learning Blog

What do we mean when we speak of free software?

The concept of free software is related to the user's freedom to "manipulate" intimately certain software, but many seem confused and link it to an issue of cost or price.

The term Free Software is associated with ethical and philosophical approach that includes the ability to access source code (Number of lines of text - in a programming language, which are instructions to be followed by the computer to run the program) and to access that information can then make changes to comply with every requirement and / or requirement, and then, it is possible to redistribute with these improvements.

Therefore it is free not free, but for freedom of use that guarantees the user (free software is often referred to as freeware).

  Some Background on the rise

In order to analyze the context of pregnancy and the emergence of Free Software is important to review some background on the link between knowledge and economic nature.

Around the eighties is a transformation of the relationship between university and society, as they begin to have science and technology policy, aimed at increasing the knowledge produced by the University have an application or immediate commercial orientation and in many cases research and development, was subsidized by companies, which led in turn to the discussion of copyright in relation to the knowledge produced (this is a very interesting topic, but we will not stop him this time and certainly , deserves its own chapter).

Following what was mentioned before, come then, conditions of secrecy imposed ( non-disclosure agreement ), from precisely the companies that financed a portion or all of the investigations. That is, the computer part of a major public debate on the policies of "intellectual property in research and development and on moral, ethical and political issues implicit in them. The crux of this argument rests on considerations about science as intellectual property. "(Licha 1995: 133).

We can see then how it changes the essence of knowledge is become as a private good and as issues related to intellectual property "challenge two central norms of scientific activity: lack of interest and commonality, which are the major standards that form the ethos scientist. "(Licha 1995: 136-37). It even happens that they are also the researchers, scientists and engineers who become entrepreneurs.

It is in this backdrop of globalization , general discussion on the intellectual property of all knowledge, is what develops the Free Software movement characterized by upholding the values ​​of communality (collaboration) and disinterest in the production, use and circulation of the software release in which the software depends closely on the release of the society.

Richard Stallman (leading figure of the Free Software Movement and inventor of the concept of copyleft software related) states that his work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) ended in a conflict with their own principles and I felt that the signatures of agreement non-disclousure attempted against them. Many members of the academic community suffered and are suffering this conflict internally in relation to developing technologies to private companies and not for the common good.

Already having this idea in relation to the emergence of Free Software and the spirit of it, in future articles we will explore several examples of interest.

To close this article ...

Consider the following video to review some concepts discussed in this article:

The Next Picture can help in understanding the concepts and philosophy surrounding the free software:

Material and Sites Consulted

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.es.html

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Portada

http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=90711285005

By Evan Chavez (Tutor Net-learning)