Muenchen / Munich

Free Software With Free Source Code

Why pay for expensive, licence impeded, virus prone binary-only software ?
Why not use free software with sources instead ?

Free Talks On Free Software etc (inc. Jan 2013 to Faraday)

Preamble: Why read this ?

INDEX

• Why Switch To Free Software ?
• What Benefit Are Free Sources ?
• BSD Unix ?, Linux ?, or Other ?
• BSD Unix
• Linux
• minix3
• Other
• Escape Microsoft ! - Here's How

• Free from security loopholes (commercial software by contrast is usually marketed as "Easy to use" which usually means "Security etc compromised to make initial use easier to promote sales".
• Free of virus susceptibility - Hard to hide Viruses when the source is freely & widely available for inspection.
• Free of restrictions, - As it comes with source code too, so can be fixed & improved enhanced & upgraded free of entrapment into biennial upgrade/ new release fees.
• Free of waiting - Bug reports can be emailed to International lists, fixes can be developed while you sleep, developers spread round the globe, so whatever time zone, some usually awake. No waiting till a manufacturer's next release next year.

Why Switch To Free Legal Software ?

• Microsoft addicts throw money away forever (both their own money & their employers). Consider MS- DOS 1-5, Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7 & the other non MS licenced dependent software too:
• How many times do they upgrade & relicense applications because a Microsoft using colleague sent a newer Mickey format the old program couldn't work with ? (& after upgrade sooner or later they pass the relicense infection on to the next person ;-) Then their operating system need upgrading, then the hardware, (because the ever more bloated & inefficient PS needs more powerful hardware), then some drivers need upgrading, then the applications again. How many times are Microsoft addicts forced to relicense ? Answer: Forever ! Until they die ! When will people realise buying commercial software is more like renting it ? Rather like like buying a new car where the wheels will regularly fall off every 2 or 3 years !
• Will you too continue buying licences (or boot legging software) till you die ? Or till your employer dies first ? Why ignore free legal software ? Why give your competitors a financial advantage ?
• If you think buying software makes you safe, because you have a vendor legally liable to support you, excuse us while we laugh. ! That's more wishful thinking than reality !
• This author ( experience a systems engineer, & computer consultant has many a time had a problem, documented it in an internet list posting, left to sleep, & come back next morning to a solution - Free. & for the international self support user groups , that's available 24/7 including weekends & holidays, Better than commercial support !
• How much time have you wasted while your laptop if it hasn't been on line for a week, consumes time, perhaps at high mobile rates, while asking you & loading down ever more patches or virus detectors ?
• Did you realise better operating systems with competent users do not Need virus detectors ?!

What Benefit Are Free Sources ?

• Remember the Russian saying, in German: "Vertrauen ist Gut, Kontrol ist Besser ! = Trust is good, Inspection/checking is better !" Maybe you personally can't understand the source, but you can find someone who can if needs be, & others probably already have read it & checked it, or will. (Big projects like FreeBSD.Org have even organised methodical read through of their entire code base before now !)
• Free binaries with no source can be scarey: The question of provenance & trust. Corporate IT staff can't trust what they can't inspect (so why they trust Micro$oft after the Word previous edits leakage is anyone's guess ;-)
• Binaries without sources encourage a paradigm of lots of small suppliers, not co-operating, not checking, higher risk of problems if humans fall ill, stop, or little companies fail.
• Free Source corrects that, bigger projects can adopt code, cross check, provide spare experienced staff if maintainer drops out, & there's competition & improvement & cross fertilisation.
• Imagine an engine block made out of tough crystal - where you can See your problem, & assess just how bad it is, & & how to work round it or fix it, what it might take to fix it.
• You & others can look for potential trouble ahead of time & be confident there's no faults deliberately hidden by the manufacturer !
• You can check security, & ensure there's no hidden data leaks to a Redmond or other manufacturer.
• No dark places for viruses to hard.
• You can fix urgent bugs Now, not wait for a new release of the software from a monopoly software vendor in months or a year, & hope a fix Might be included then.
• Companies can employ from a free market of competitive consultants to fix or customise what you need Now, (Remember you've saved lots of money not purchasing bulk licences)
• You can get help from free self help groups
• Your own tech support staff can patch things if urgent.

BSD Unix ?, Linux ?, or Other ?

We in the Free World, generally think anything's nicer than Micro$oft. Some Unix people with long experience think: Yes Linux is nice, but BSD Unix is even nicer ! But both are good . Linux & BSD are just two types of Unix. (There's many other types too, eg eg Mach, HP-UX, Solaris, Ultrix, Sinix, Xenix, SCO etc though they're mostly not free).
Linux & BSD both come in various sub types beyond. (which usually makes job advertisements that say "Must have Linux Experience" show the advertiser is ignorant. Yes, this author is a Unix Consultant & tends to regard Linux as just another variant of Unix

BSD Unix

Linux

minix3 www.minix3.org/

Other

Index at top

  Escape Microsoft ! - Here's How