Free Software The next generation of software development OR A new level of consumer freedom?
What is “free software”? Richard Stallman, MIT 1983 Political Philosophy -‘Free speech’, not ‘free beer’ Opposite of proprietary software GNU
What is GNU? GNU’s not Unix….. Copyleft vs. copyright GNU Emacs, GNU HURD GPL/GLPL Free Software Foundation (1985) GNU/Linux
Free Software vs. Open Source Political Philosophy Ethical Rights Allows unconditional ‘sharing’ and collaboration Only GNU/FSF meet standards Development Technique Better Software Allows software to ‘evolve’ Sun, Apple, Netscape all on board.
Free software in the market Linux and freeBSD Apple, Sun, Netscape Microsoft - Halloween Documents (1998) LibraNet petition & UDI- hardware vendors Id software - quakelives.com
Cases to watch Sun vs. Microsoft (servers) GNU/Linux vs. Microsoft (desktop)
OS/FS vs. Proprietary SoftEvolution - best survive Debugging is parallelizable $$ from tech support and customizations Fast revisions and bug fixes Protect trade secrets ‘Professional’ coders produce best quality Need enforced standards Company is liable
Ethical Issues UCITA - should software have a license? Software liability Source code requirements Copyright in the digital domain
Is the copyright applicable to the digital age? "The sole interest of the United States and the primary object in conferring the [copyright] monopoly lie in the general benefits derived by the public from the labors of authors.” Supreme Court Fox Film Corp. v. Doyal
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