On the occasion of the first annual "Software Freedom Day" held at Hanoi University of Technology (28-8). So what is free software and how many computers & nbsp; types of ware ... are & nbsp; problems that you will know in the article & nbsp; below.
On the commercial side, software is a special commodity, highly crystallized gray matter content in the product. It can be easily cloned and distributed. But different from the ordinary material products from the angle of copyright and trade.
There are new concepts emerging around this issue, the composition of which is not only a legal, economic element but also elements of cultural and moral perspectives.
Firmware
Someone called firmware or hardware soft- ware. Firmware is a read-only memory (ROM-Read Only Memory) software that contains boot procedures, low-level I / O. It softens the hardware due to its flexibility, ease of modification and throughput that accelerates the hardware. Typically, Lite on's firmware helps increase the speed of a CD-RW drive, which can increase the speed from 48x16x48x to 52x24x52x.
The hard drive is the same, the firmware has a certain role. For example, if you use a Seagate hard drive, Model ST340015A, Firmware Revision is 3.01 and Seagate's next support will be 3.02.
On the commercial side, the firmware is free software. But in fact you paid a premium for hardware. Firmware may be written by a hardware vendor or third-party vendor to assist the customer, and in the end, it is also a client request.
Freeware
Meaning "free software", the user does not have to pay when using it. However, freeware has the following limitations:
+ Size is not large, the function is not much and the author is not responsible for the warranty for the user (unfortunately affected to the other programs in the free trial is free!).
+ Freeware users see or have the right to copy others to use as themselves. But, of course not to get money (because software authors take money where!).
+ Not for commercial use. Even the author asked not to be used for public or military purposes (do not carefully read the license agreement before installation, there are days to be sued in court. Do not think with Freeware)
+ Author still holds copyright
+ Freeware is free but not necessarily open source, there are cases where the author specifies that the user does not decompile the source code or change the finished product. So freeware is different from the free software concept. And it is suggested to use the term Gratisware but this term is not popular.
Freeware was originally coined by Andrew Fluegelman as Trademak for PC-Talk software written by him in 1982, after which the trademark was dropped and freeware became a generic term.
We also have Abandonware (abandon-abandoned) that the software is "dead", no longer sold in the market anymore. There is actually some kind of software like this when the copyright holder officially declares it to the people of the galaxy.
Shareware
Is freeware in some conditions. Shareware will give you some requirements that you must follow if you want to use long lasting, stable. Shareware includes:
Donatewate: The author only needs to pay "generously" to the author or to a third party, usually a charity. If donated to a charity, the term would be Careware or Charityware.
+ Postcardware: The author only needs users to send a feedback about the product, or send postcards and postcards to help the author have a collection of cities, beautiful scenes around the world.
Adware: It's free to use, but it's hard to read ads in the program's interface or an ad when you start running the program. However, recent Adware is easily identified with Spyware.
All three types of Donateware, Postcardware and Adware are clearly free of charge when used with the full functionality of the software. So, still can be considered as Freeware.
So real shareware? The software is limited functionality or limited time or use. This type of limitation is called Cripleware. You have to pay to have full version (full version). Essentially it is a trial version with the purpose of "client", as a way to promote the product. The indispensable part in the digital world is the shareware that quickly becomes a victim of crack. In Vietnam, the two companies Lac Viet and Ban Mai are typical of Crack so that no longer interested in developing extremely useful software.
Very witty when some shareware is still able to let users continue to work with it despite the expiration of the trial period, but repeatedly prompted the user to register and pay, called Nagware (Nag - smiled, grumble !!!). If not, then WinZip and WinRar are the real Nagware.
The term "shareware" was first used by Bob Wallace in 1980 with PC-Write software, a word processing program.
Free Software and Open Source
Richard Stallmann, a pioneer in the fight against "proprietary" software ownership, introduced this concept in the GNU project in 1984. According to Richard Stallmann, Free Software must give users the rights the following freedoms:
+ Freedom 0: Freedom to run the program for any reason.
+ Freedom 1: Freedom to study how the program works, is allowed to modify to suit the needs of specific users. Open source is a prerequisite for this freedom
+ Freedom 2: Freely distribute copies to help others in need.
Freedom 3: Freedom to improve the program and bring this improvement to the beneficiary community. Of course, open source is a prerequisite. Stallmann and his supporters used Free software to counter proprietary software. Proprietary software prohibits other people from editing and redistributing it, which is the property and secret of the individual, the company, and the organization.
However, Free Software does not have to be Freeware, which is not necessarily free. Stallmann reiterates that "free" in the word "free software" is not free but free of charge, especially the right to change and contribute. Give the community the ability to grasp the source code of the program.
So, their open source nature is very different from closed source software, whether closed software is free or not.
Of course, open source software is always cheaper than closed software because editing takes less effort than creating new ones. Another aspect of open source is security in use.
Open source software, which is typically Linux with commercial distributions like Red Hat, is an example of free software thinking and the feasibility of this idea.
Sadly in our country, when thinking of ... WARE the majority of users synonymous it with "using the temple". Free software, especially open source software, is the only way out for a developing country. A significant counterweight to the commercial software of the giants must know what (Microsoft has to lower the price, must publish some code under the pressure of free software).
However, the construction of open source software in Vietnam so far can not be called "successful". How many computer science departments, information technology universities bring open source to research and teaching? At the same time, it is clear that free software thinking is very progressive, well suited to the socialist-oriented development trend in our country.
