Free Software Alternative, The

Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Winter 2006 by Gualtieri, Devlin M

In English, the word "free" is ambiguous. Programmers have adapted the convention of referencing free things as either "free as in speech," or "free as in beer." Free as in speech, which is "libre" in legalese, means free of restrictions. Users can both use and modify a libre program, and these rights pass down to subsequent modifications. "Free as in beer," an allusion to a college keg party, refers to "gratis" software - that is, software that is free of charge. The free software ideal encompasses both of these ideals. Free software is available at no charge, and its code is fully disclosed to allow modification and extension.

The idea that software should be free was not limited to the UNIX crowd. In the very early days of personal computers there was another operating system, CP/M. CP/M was not free (I bought my version for $100 in 1980). In the days before computer stores, it took a lot of programming skill to get CP/M to work on your essentially home-built computer, and as a consequence many CP/M user groups came into existence. CP/M users would meet to discuss and solve common problems, and, more importantly, to share programs. Eventually, these shared program disks were merged into a huge library and were available by mail for just the cost of the disk copy and postage. A similar user group existed for Digital Equipment Corporation mainframe computers. The advent of the Internet has made program sharing essentially free.

What are the advantages of free software, aside from its very attractive price? The advantages extend beyond the gratis idea of free to the libre idea of free. Many recent security problems have cropped up with the Microsoft Windows operating system, and Microsoft has valiantly tried to plug security holes in its code by issuing frequent updates for its customers. Because the Windows code is held proprietarily by Microsoft, only Microsoft employees have scanned the code looking for potential avenues of attack by hackers. When Windows is attacked, only Microsoft employees are able to rewrite and distribute the code. Free software, in which the source code is open to all who want it, has the advantage in computer security. Eric S. Raymond, an author and historian of computer culture, stated this point simply when he wrote, "Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." What he meant is that with open-source software, many experienced programmers have access to the code, and they can spot and correct errors before they become problems in the installed customer base.

A home Linux system looks and functions much like Windows. It has a graphical user interface (either KDE or Gnome) where you can point and click to launch programs. Open Office provides word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database programs. FireFox provides a Web browser with integrated features to prevent common annoyances, such as pop-up advertisements. Thunderbird provides an e-mail system with anti-virus and junk-mail prevention features. GIMP, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, lets you resize images, convert image formats, and apply artistic effects to images. Many programs are available for video display and audio, as well as myriad other utility programs, all free on the Internet. You can experience Linux, albeit at a slower speed, by using one of many "Linux Live" CDs. These CDs let you try Linux without modifying your present computer because Linux runs from the CD without installation.