GNU project /linux == Open source software?
Monday, September 28th, 2009 at
05:24
Hi Everyone: I understand that GNU looks for the use of free software. My question is.. It is easy to incorporate those software on the company network? It is totally free? What exactly do they mean when mentioning GNU?Linux?
Tagged with: free software • gnu linux • Linux
Filed under: Open Source
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GNU is a free/open source operating system, although this operating system is not used very much, GNU based operating systems (Linux,BSD, etc) are common, especially in the server world. GNU tools (gcc, bash, glibc, etc) are common in the Unix world.
These two projects are completely free. You can download them for free, and redestribute them without getting into trouble. If you want, you can even get the source code and change it around to make the operating system do whatever you want it to do. This may take a bit more know-how than most people have, but there is no legal limitation preventing you from modifying the operatings ystem.
Wikipedia has some good information on these two systems.
Yes, you can install on your company network for everyone to use.
From http://www.gnu.org …
What is the GNU project?
The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop a complete Unix-like operating system which is free software: the GNU system. Variants of the GNU operating system, which use the kernel called Linux, are now widely used; though these systems are often referred to as “Linux”, they are more accurately called GNU/Linux systems.
GNU is a recursive acronym for “GNU’s Not Unix”; it is pronounced guh-noo, approximately like canoe.
What is Free Software?
“Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech”, not as in “free beer”.
Free software is a matter of the users’ freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:
-The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
-The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1).
-Access to the source code is a precondition for this. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
-The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
The GNU project is a project created by Richard Stallman in the late 80s. It is the founder of the GPL license which allow people to create free software with freely available code without having to worry about patents problems.
The Linux kernel was created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. It was based off Minix, which is a microkernel version of UNIX. Linus created the Linux kernel like a normal UNIX, monolithic.
There are some Linuxes that use proprietary software and those Linuxes are not GNU/Linuxes because in order to be a GNU/Linux they need to run fully on free and opensourced software.
Gentoo Linux and Debian Linux are examples of GNU/Linux.