Various licenses have been developed to govern the field of software, some of which are particularly intended to protect the principles of free software. While a patent is intended to protect an idea (like an algorithm), copyright, or copyright , only protects the very expression of an idea. This distinction has opened the door to copyright abuse. Indeed, it Read More
In principle, the easiest way to make a program free is to distribute it in the public domain and not attach any copyright to it. However, it also exposes this program to be modified and copyrighted which would make it proprietary software. It was then that the notion of copyleft appeared : “software under copyleft (literally, copyright) is free software, the distribution Read More
The GPL license The GPL license is the most widely used license in the free software world. Among the set of free software licenses, it is generally considered to be the one that offers the most freedoms to developers. Richard Stallman , in his fight against proprietary software, created the “GNU General Public License”, commonly known as the “GPL Read More
In January 1984, Richard Stallman resigned from the Artificial Intelligence laboratory at MIT in order to devote himself to the development of software for the GNU project (GNU is the recursive acronym “GNU is Not Unix”). Its goal is to found a new community that freely shares the software. Stallman’s idea is to build a complete, completely free operating system. To do this, Stallman Read More
The free software development model is essentially collaborative . A free software project generally brings together several developers who may be distant from each other. The Sourceforge site gives a good overview of the collaborative environments used in the development of free software. Many companies are investing in free software. Some programmers are even employed, and therefore paid, to develop free software. This is the case Read More
From a philosophical point of view, free software defends freedom and equal access to new technologies. Free software provides users with the ability to translate, improve, and adapt software for their own needs. In fact, “free software contributes to ensuring the protection of local cultures, multilingualism, the development and conservation of information” ( UNESCO, 2002 ). To this end, Read More
Free software is mainly distributed over the Internet. The main cooperative development sites are: Sourceforge Savannah Several compilation sites exist: freshmeat.net , www.framasoft.net and the Free Software Directory . There are also websites for streaming open source operating systems : LinuxISO (ISO images of Linux distributions), Mandrake , Red Hat and SuSE . There are personal sites that host free software, download sites (freeware, shareware and open source software) www.tucows.com , download.com , telecharger.01net.com ). There are also many online reviews and their download area. In addition Read More
Introduction In the ever-evolving landscape of modern living, the integration of technology into our homes has become not just a luxury but a necessity. Home automation, the ability to control and monitor various aspects of our homes remotely, has gained significant traction in recent years. Beyond the convenience it offers, home automation also plays a Read More
