Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified

without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form
either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also
do these things and that manufacturers of consumer-facing hardware allow user modifications to
their hardware. Free software is generally available without charge, but can have a fee, such as in
the form of charging for CDs or other distribution medium among other ways.
In practice, for software to be distributed as free software, the human-readable form of the program
(the source code) must be made available to the recipient along with a notice granting the above
permissions. Such a notice either is a free software license, or a notice that the source code is
released into the public domain.
The free software movement was conceived in 1983 by Richard Stallman to satisfy the need for and
to give the benefit of software freedom to computer users.[2] Stallman founded the Free Software
Foundation in 1985 to provide the organizational structure to advance his Free Software ideas.
From 1998 onward, alternative terms for free software came into use. The most common are
software libre, free and open source software (FOSS) and free, libre and open source software
(FLOSS). The Software Freedom Law Center was founded in 2005 to protect and advance FLOSS.
[3] The antonym of free software is proprietary software or non-free software. Commercial software
may be either free software or proprietary software, contrary to a popular misconception that
commercial software is a synonym for proprietary software. An example of commercial free
software is GNAT.[4]
Free software, which may or may not be distributed free of charge, is distinct from freeware which,
by definition, does not require payment for use. The authors or copyright holders of freeware may
retain all rights to the software; it is not necessarily permissible to reverse engineer, modify, or
redistribute freeware.[5][6]
Since free software may be freely redistributed it is generally available at little or no cost. Free
software business models are usually based on adding value such as applications, support, training,
customization, integration, or certification. At the same time, some business models which work
with proprietary software are not compatible with free software, such as those that depend on the
user to pay for a license in order to lawfully use the software product.

• ee software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, ... protection for some
customers of Novell under certain conditions ...
32 KB (4,267 words) - 19:33, 7 November 2010
• Creative Commons (section The Free Software Foundation)
copyright -license s known as Creative Commons licenses free of charge to the public. ... The Free
Software Foundation: of the Free Software ...
37 KB (4,733 words) - 01:33, 26 October 2010
• Proprietary software (redirect from Non-free software)
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of ... Many
proponents of free and open source software ...
28 KB (3,679 words) - 05:11, 9 November 2010
• GNU General Public License (section Terms and conditions)
is the most widely used free software license , originally written by Richard ... Those who do not
agree to the GPL's terms and conditions do ...
59 KB (8,633 words) - 19:52, 7 November 2010
• Open-source software (redirect from Open source versus free software)
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code ... marketing
campaign for free software A report by Standish ...
57 KB (8,266 words) - 21:56, 9 November 2010
• SCO v. IBM (section Free software and open source community reaction)
Free software and open source community reaction ... for a copyright transfer only under certain
conditions that SCO has allegedly failed to meet. ...
44 KB (6,775 words) - 15:42, 30 September 2010
• Copyleft (redirect from Software hoarding)
(or other work) free, and requiring all modified and extended ... copyright conditions for works such
as computer software , documents, music and art . ...
31 KB (4,585 words) - 16:46, 5 November 2010
• CP/CMS (section CP/CMS as free software)
supporting user community that anticipated today's free software movement . ... By trapping these
conditions, CP could simulate the ...
19 KB (2,757 words) - 14:33, 18 October 2010
• GNU Manifesto
in March 1985 in Dr. Dobb's Journal of Software Tools as an explanation and ... It is held in high
regard within the free software movement ...
3 KB (344 words) - 08:43, 16 October 2010
• Software patent (section Free and open source software)
Software patent does not have a ... suggested by the Foundation for a Free Information ... form of a
license which conditions are set by the ...
38 KB (5,354 words) - 21:05, 30 September 2010
• Source code escrow (section Free software)
Source code escrow is the deposit of the source code of software with a third ... released under a
free software ... fundraising conditions are met. ...
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• Ryzom (redirect from Free Ryzom)
Ryzom and release the game as free software On December 14, the Free ... rains and be unattainable
during other seasons or weather conditions. ...
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• Apache License (redirect from Apache Software License)
The Apache License is a free software license authored by the Apache Software ... Licensing
conditions : Like any free software license , the ...
8 KB (972 words) - 14:01, 5 October 2010
• Boundary element method (section Free software)
The boundary element method attempts to use the given boundary conditions to fit boundary values
into the ... Free software : http://sourceforge. ...
8 KB (1,114 words) - 13:04, 9 September 2010
• Free culture movement
The free culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to ... is of a whole with
the free software movement . Richard ...
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• Full text search (redirect from Free-text)
Many web sites and application programs (such as word processing software) provide full-text ...
Free and open source software : DataparkSearch ...
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• GNU Free Documentation License (section Conditions)
documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project . ...
Conditions: as long as the use meets certain conditions. ...
24 KB (3,044 words) - 13:43, 2 November 2010
• MIT License (redirect from MIT software license)
The MIT License is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts ... Software is furnished
to do so, subject to the following conditions: ...
7 KB (916 words) - 02:52, 18 October 2010
• Digital rights management (section "DRM-Free")
such as the Free Software Foundation (through its Defective By ... existing systems is expressly
permitted under the Act under specific conditions. ...
90 KB (12,746 words) - 13:41, 5 November 2010
• Comparison of free software licenses
This is a comparison of published free software license s. ... of each license and is a general guide to
the terms and conditions of each license

• Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, ... charging for
CDs or other distribution medium among other ways. ...
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• List of Linux distributions endorsed by the Free Software Foundation
This page gives a list of Linux distribution s that have been stated by the Free Software
Foundation to meet their criteria of a free ...
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• Free and open source software (section Free software)
Free and open source software (F/OSS, FOSS) or free /libre /open source software ... often
used to signify different distribution methodologies ...
18 KB (2,581 words) - 06:31, 8 November 2010
• Richard Stallman (section Free software activism)
shortened to rms-- is an American software freedom activist and computer programmer . ...
the most widely used free software license Since the ...
52 KB (7,150 words) - 16:39, 7 November 2010
• GNU Project (section Free software)
The GNU Project is a free software , mass collaboration project, announced on ... program's
code as long as the distribution terms do not change. ...
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• Linux
prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; ... Linux distributions
include the Linux kernel and all of the supporting ...
62 KB (8,053 words) - 20:38, 9 November 2010
• Debian (section Installation of software packages)
system composed of software packages ... License and other free software licenses The ...
influential GNU/Linux distribution It is distributed ...
78 KB (9,971 words) - 22:00, 6 November 2010
• Free software licence
A free software licence is a software licence which grants recipients rights to ... commercial
distribution of free software is acceptable ...
18 KB (2,599 words) - 22:23, 9 November 2010
• Creative Commons (section The Free Software Foundation)
copyright -license s known as Creative Commons licenses free of charge to the public. ...
The Free Software Foundation: of the Free Software ...
37 KB (4,733 words) - 01:33, 26 October 2010
• Proprietary software (redirect from Non-free software)
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of ... Many
proponents of free and open source software ...
 28 KB (3,679 words) - 05:11, 9 November 2010
• FreeBSD (redirect from Free BSD)
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via the
Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD). among free ...
40 KB (5,281 words) - 12:38, 9 November 2010
• Common Development and Distribution License
Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) is a free software license ,
produced by Sun Microsystems , based on the Mozilla Public ...
8 KB (1,053 words) - 02:38, 5 November 2010
• Open-source software (redirect from Open source versus free software)
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code ...
marketing campaign for free software A report by Standish ...
57 KB (8,266 words) - 21:56, 9 November 2010
• Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard ... List
of Linux distributions endorsed by the Free ...
26 KB (3,297 words) - 10:28, 1 November 2010
• Eben Moglen (section Stances on free software)
client list includes numerous pro bono clients, such as the Free Software Foundation . ...
owners of media, distribution channels, and software. ...
11 KB (1,590 words) - 05:27, 6 October 2010
• Debian Free Software Guidelines (section Software)
The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) is a set of guidelines that the Debian ... keep
the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution entirely free ...
10 KB (1,499 words) - 01:43, 19 July 2010
• Ylmf OS
Ylmf OS is a free software Linux distribution derived from the Ubuntu operating system Its
user interface closely resembles that of ...
4 KB (386 words) - 20:01, 1 September 2010
• Black Lab Linux
Black Lab Linux was a free software , open-source Linux distribution for Power
Architecture hardware. (USA )-based software company ...
2 KB (303 words) - 08:00, 6 August 2010
• List of free software lawsuits
Free Software is software which has been licensed for distribution under certain licenses.
These allow the software to be freely copy ...
4 KB (611 words) - 22:22, 3 January 2010
• GNU (section GNU software)
"complete Unix-compatible software system composed wholly of free software . ... is by far
the most popular distribution vector for GNU software ...
19 KB (2,653 words) - 11:36, 22 October 2010

GNU
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the operating system. For the animal, see Wildebeest. For other uses, see GNU
(disambiguation).
This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary
sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia
article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (July 2010)
GNU

OS family Unix-like
Working state Under development, no stable releases
Latest unstable release 2.3 (September 14, 2009; 12 months ago) [+/−]
Available language(s) Multilingual
Supported platforms x86
Kernel type Microkernel
Default user interface GNOME
License GNU General Public License and other free software licenses
Official website http://www.gnu.org/
GNU (pronounced /ˈɡnuː/ ( listen)[1]) is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the
GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"[2] composed
wholly of free software. Development of GNU was initiated by Richard Stallman in 1983 and was
the original focus of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), but no stable release of GNU yet exists as
of September 2010.[3][4][5] The latest alpha release of the GNU system is GNU 0.2, released in
2004, featuring GNU Hurd as the system's kernel. Other (non-GNU) kernels can also presently be
used with GNU; the FSF maintains that Linux, when used with GNU tools and utilities, should be
considered a variant of GNU, and promotes the term GNU/Linux for such systems (leading to the
GNU/Linux naming controversy).
GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix!", chosen because GNU's design is Unix-like, but
differs from Unix by being free software and containing no Unix code.[6] Programs released under
the auspices of the GNU Project are called GNU packages or GNU programs. The system's basic
components include the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), the GNU Binary Utilities (binutils), the
bash shell, the GNU C library (glibc), and GNU Core Utilities (coreutils). GNU developers have
contributed Linux ports of GNU applications and utilities, which are now also widely used on other
operating systems such as BSD variants, Solaris and Mac OS X.
The GNU General Public License (GPL), the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), and the
GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) were written for GNU, but are also used by many
unrelated projects.
To paraphrase Richard Stallman, the GNU system is a technical means to a social end.[7]