Free Software: What is it, how does it work and what types exist in computing?

Also, to begin with, it is important to understand that a software has to do with the instructions necessary to communicate with a computer and that make its use possible, that is to say that, in short, they are the programs. Therefore, without the software these computers would be practically useless.

But well, it should be noted that, at present, there are different types of software, both in terms of its usefulness and also around its price. However, generally, one of the best known and named in the world of computing it is free software and so far, many people are unaware of what these types of programs are about, for sure.

That is why, in this post, we want to let you know everything about the definition and what is free software for, as well as its main characteristics and some differences with respect to other concepts that may be similar to this one. Also taking into account, some interesting examples.

What is free software and what is it for?

Basically, free software is called each and every one of the computer programs that they give to their users. access to the source code or original programming code in which they were manufactured, that is, to the instructions of the program. This, by explicit decision of its own programmers and designers.

In this sense, when it comes to a free program, users have the possibility of copy, modify, customize and distribute it freely; as its very identification indicates. Which, of course, gives rise to multiple versions of the same software and its appearance does not represent any type of legal or ethical violation of the original program.

It should be noted that this term is attributed to Richard Stallmanthe founder of the “Free Software Foundation” either “Free Software Foundation”. Since, in said foundation, a large number of expert programmers developed an operating system totally freecalled “GNU Project” and in this way, it was distinguished from the famous and classic UNIX.

In this sense, being a free project, it allowed advanced users collaborate with its development in a free and community way. Thus, a completely different proposal from the policies that traditional software companies handle, which generally hide the source code of all their products.

On the other hand, you will also wonder what these types of free programs are for, and then we will tell you its main benefits:

• Use the software for any purpose, without any restrictions.
• Study how the program works and at the same time, adapt it to your requirements.
• Make improvements to the software and share them with other users, without this being illegal.
• Distribute your copies, freely, to whomever you deem appropriate.

What are the characteristics of a free computer program?

Having detailed the above, it is also very important to know what the essential characteristics of free software are, also known as a free computer program. Therefore, in this section of the post, we point out all its particularities of greatest interest:

• In them, software source code is always available and for this reason is that its users can modify it without any limit.
• some may be completely freeWhile others are paid. But, in any of the cases and once purchased, the user has access to the program’s instructions.
• free software they are reliable and safe. This means that every error is identified and corrected in a very short time.
• Allow adjustments and updates quicklyin order to speed up development.
• Thanks to his condition of freedom, he ensures increased protection against viruses.
• For all its peculiarities, it can compete smoothly with piracy. In other words, all satire regarding copyright and information control measures is avoided.
• All such software must guarantee four specific freedomswhich are based on:

It should be noted that these freedoms are completely linked to the main utilities that can be given to a free program.

Free Software vs Freeware. How is each model different?

In case you didn’t know, a “Freeware” is a computer program whose distribution is completely free. Hence, the term that is formed from the English expression “Freesoftware” which basically means “Free program”. Which means that, with this type of software, users do not have to pay anything to install and use it.

In this sense, many users can fall into the dilemma as to whether Freeware is the same as free software and, limiting a slogan that has been promoted with respect to free programs that indicates “free as in freedom, not as in free beer”; We emphasize that both they don’t mean the same thing.

Here are their most relevant differences:

• While free software offers access to its source code without any restrictions, in freeware users they are not allowed to modify your code.
• Some free programs They are free and others are paid., since this freedom has to do with use and not with gratuity. On the contrary, in freeware its main characteristic is free distribution.

What is “open source” and how is it different from free software? Is the same?

Also called “Open Source”this type of program is based on source code published under a license that allows its use, modification or redistribution free form. Which means that they are software whose code is not secret or subject to any kind of license.

From this definition, you can surely conclude that an open source program is totally the same as free software, but actually it’s not like that. In other words, there is a small distinction between these two types of programs that, if not well clarified, could easily confuse users.

In this sense, the main difference that is taken into account between the terms “open source” and “free software” it has to do with the technical, ethical and philosophical aspects of freedom on which each of them is based. Since open source programs are only based on the technical aspectswhile free programs are strictly related to ethical and philosophical aspects of freedom.

In short, open source software focuses on showing users and companies the practical benefits for projects that decide to release their code. While free software emphasizes all those that respect the essential freedoms of the user to improve a certain product.

Other differences

• Bass a business concept, the difference between these programs is based on the fact that an application developed as free software allows you to obtain remuneration for development and support concepts, as long as you deliver the source codes. On the other hand, the programs that have been developed under Open Source do not force you to do this.
• Open source is less strict than free software. For that reason, in practice, all free software can be classified as open source, but not all open source software has to be free.
• Free software is based on all the freedom that the term implies. While using an open source program does not imply that there is always freedombut rather availability at the time of accessing the code.

List of examples of the best free software that you can install on your computer

Finally, to better understand the concept of free software, it is necessary to take into account some clear examples of these that you can install on your computer without any limitations.

Here are five of the best of them:

Linux

Historically, it is one of the most important free programs due to its popularity. Which was created in 1983 by the expert Linus Torvalds, while he was studying at the renowned University of Helsinki. Notably, It is free and open source software. weather.

Among its main features, we highlight that Linux has become a great alternative to Windows and thanks to this, it has achieved the support of various companies and public administrations. Apart from that, it is considered an operating system focused on the use of networks, it allows you to customize the user interface, it presents strong multitasking abilityfavors work in multiuser modeetc.

firefox

Since its first version published in 2002, it has been considered the quintessential free web browser despite the fact that it was still known as “Phoenix”. Thanks to its excellent features, Firefox has been downloaded more than 300 million times and it is worth noting that it has been awarded numerous prizes worldwide.

For its part, it stands out for being a multiplatform solution, it has tabbed browsing, it contains a spell checker, offers antiphishing protection to its users, as well as a safeguard against spyware. In addition to this, Firefox has a pop-up blocker and It has a wide variety of add-ons, plugins and themes.

Chrome OS

It refers to an operating system that is based on the Linux kernel and is currently under development by the famous company Google Inc. In this sense, Chrome OS it is 100% cloud based and will use the Google Chrome browser as its main interface.

Among other details, it should be noted that this operating system It is free software and Open Source at the same time, and was released around the month of November 2009. It has been designed in a minimalist way that contains indicators, tabs and launchers. One of its greatest advantages is the speed it provides with a boot time of 10 seconds or less.

open-office

This is an office suite with the ability to cover almost everything a user needs, thanks to the included word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, equation editor, and drawing program. Which, in addition to being a free program, stands out for its ability to open the vast majority of popular formats and contains a reliable spell checker in more than 100 languages.

Now, detailing other particularities, we indicate that Open Office can be executed naturally on all operating systems currently in use, has Unicode support and offers high security. In addition to this, it allows you to easily add extensions in order to add extra functionality.

eMule

To conclude this small list, we refer to eMule, the file sharing program. Which is based on a GPL application that accepts the download of files from Kademlia and eDonkey 2000 protocols. This, over time, has become one of the most popular P2P applications worldwide, despite the fact that it started as a simple free alternative to the eDonkey program.

It is worth noting that, over time, eMule has proven to be one of the most efficient and complete file download clients on the market. Since, it provides great quality in the results that it throws in each search, it also It is very easy to use and contains a variety of tools with which it stands out among its competitors. Likewise, Provides maximum download securityhas advanced search options and has a completely organized and intuitive interface.