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Open Source/Freeware Tips |
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Free/Libre - Open Source - Freeware - Shareware
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Definitions:There are several terms used when talking about free software. Free often means that there is no cost when you download from the Internet, but for most of us who care, free is used in the context of freedom, with the goal of reducing restrictions on the use and improvement of software, not focusing on cost.Free/Libre - software that is licenced to remain free as in liberty Open Source - software whose human readible programming is available to see and modify Freeware - software that is given away for no cost, but under copyright and source remains closed Shareware - free to try and then you are honor bound to pay if you use it regularly Nagware - like shareware, but with annoying popup reminders that you should pay Crippleware - like shareware, but with limited features until you pay Demoware - like shareware, but maybe you cannot print or save until you pay Proprietary - software for which you pay and the (usually multi-screen End User Licence Agreement) usually says you don't really own it, just have the license to use it DRM - Digital Rights Management - a system of locking access to prevent copying - limits one's ability to make a backup Copyright - system of laws applied to creative output (frequently called "intellectual property") which confers rights to make copies of the material Patent
- system of laws applied to some software which cause derivative works
to be subject to royalty payments to the patent holder - very
controversial because patents only work when the software is "attached"
to a general purpose computer Hacker - person who enjoys the process of analyzing software and hardware, trying to figure out how they work Cracker - person who seeks to bypass copyright, patent, encryption, etc. in order to gain unauthorized access to the source code, or illicit control of somebody else's computer system - Crackers are often mislabeled as hackers, which gives hackers a bad name |
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