What they have in common EcuRed, the CERN and the International Space Station? The answer to this question is summarized in two words: Free Software
The term was coined 30 years ago by the American Richard Stallman with its famous GNU Manifesto, become paradigm document to guide the use of software. .
In 1983 Stallman worked as a researcher and developer Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, where he faced a major ethical dilemma.
Some colleagues in this division sought to create proprietary software companies, something that the hacker did not agree. When asked to sign a confidentiality agreement about the products that were developed there Stallman not only refused, but announced the start of a project to create an entirely free computer operating system as an alternative to the then burgeoning Unix.
Thus was born, in March 1985, based on an operating system called GNU, accompanied by a manifesto as a philosophical source for programmers, who would lead the Free Software Movement, a way that has not been without difficulties and far from being the most popular in the world of New Technologies of Information and Communication.
One of our most popular products, resulting from the application of this philosophy is GNU / Linux, The GNU Manifesto operating system created by Linus Torvalds Finnish in 1992.
A rocky road
raises four main principles to preserve the independence of computer users, known as liberties.
These are summarized in the software to be implemented and used in all forms and purposes the user wants; they can be examined, processed and published changes in the program; it is possible to copy and distribute to “help others” and that is to improve the program and publicize the progress, so that the whole community benefits.
With these principles Stallman has faced private software companies, but not in the economic sense -to some extent but as implicit dependence and restrictions to which users are bound when using particular software licenses.
The document Stallman explains how everyone would benefit from having totally free computer operating systems. This idea has cost a victim of many questions during his life, for without doubt facing major transnational software.
And that Stallman was the first to understand that a world where only corporations dominate technology and control all computers creates dependent users who are somehow part of the property of those entities.
His “premonition” perhaps already became a reality, as corporations like Google, Apple, Facebook or Microsoft The latter sworn enemy of Stallman, use proprietary software and provide free services in exchange for the personal information of its users.
Free, no free
The philosophy of creating Free Software not mean it’s free. The aforementioned GNU Manifesto explains that the operating system is not part of the public domain. Although we all have permission to modify and redistribute it, no one can break this chain with proprietary software.
This initiative born copyleft licenses, that allow creators to release their work under the protection of copyright in a a completely opposite of the copyright.
With a copyleft license anyone can use, study, modify and share the material, but forces who use it to share any derivatives with the same license, thus ensuring freedom of content. So, this license protects the user rather than the author, but does not prevent the software is marketed. If we take, for example, Libre Office, a totally free and with the same functionalities of Microsoft Office office product, we see that the latter is the most widely used worldwide.
Why? The answers can be varied. It is the fact the user experience. The average person needs foremost usability, look exquisitely developed by private companies.
Many of the free applications are sometimes “unstable”, although in recent years considerable progress has been made in this regard.
There is also a domain of almost total market between two companies: the ubiquitous Microsoft with its Windows operating system and Apple OS (although the latter is often given to users)
<. p> Another aspect to consider is that in the history of computer software is delivered to the user by choice. Such a young industry, with just over four decades of existence, has lacked strong public policies that encourage standardization of programs to be used (eg, based on free software), gap was filled by Microsoft and similar companies.
Migrate, that is the question
In 2007, Richard Stallman was in Cuba and was interviewed exclusively by Juventud Rebelde . Then “San Ignucio ‘character created by the hacker to’ bless’ computers using Free Software, said that using this type of program is of great importance for the future of caring societies, which can only form this type of consciousness if dispense with the proprietary software.
Stallman said in the interview that he would like not only Cuba, but everyone migrate completely to Free Software. “For that the biggest obstacle is social inertia. But Cuba has experience in fighting major obstacles. Then you can do, “he said.
” Most users worldwide still use proprietary software, he said. It’s sad, but it shows us that we still have much to do. I hope that someday this changes. It is my hope, but should be done step by step. And Cuba can give them. “
Data StatCounter website (gs.statcounter.com), endorsed by the consulting firm Pingdom indicate that Cuba tops the world list of Free Software users, followed by Venezuela, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. However, the numbers show that there is still much to do. Only six percent of Cubans users used a GNU system, while in Venezuela the figure is reduced to three percent.
StatCounter indicates that Linux and other free operating systems are used by only 2.38 percent of the world population.
Just analyze the educational importance of the use of free software, we see the need for its implementation. If a teacher wishes to apply computers in their classes with the Microsoft Office suite mentioned, you can not do it if you do not pay licenses for each of the computers present in your classroom (or install pirated copies of the program). With Free Software not only this ethical-financial problem is eliminated, it can use the software as a basis to demonstrate the value of collaboration and solidarity.
Even the almighty Microsoft has begun to open a little your Windows tight (while focusing on the service economy and no license), a situation that suggests this operating system with its open in the not too distant future code. Will there that day
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