What is free software and why should you care? – Animal Politico

Richard Stallman is quite a character; in his lectures usually barefoot and armed with full of metaphors, neophytes and experts explained his view on free software. // Photo:Xavs _

You know who gives the instructions to your computer? You may think that you, when in fact it may be another This affirms Richard Stallman, founder of the free software movement.; he explains why you should care about the use of ‘not unique’ programs.

Stallman is New York. is the founder of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) , is 62 years old and on the stage at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), where he lectured in early December, has no anger in remove your shoes and start talking in fluent Spanish.

Richard, plump figure and average height, warns that if users have control of the program is free software. When it’s the opposite, it is proprietary software. And that’s a problem.

everyday programs like a word processor or the same operating system (Windows or Mac, commonly) can compromise your privacy.

Free Software: ethical issue of freedom

To Richard – or ‘RMS’ contraction Richard Matthew Stallman – that the software is ‘free’ is a question of ethics

How much you know about the creator of the software? Are you allowed as user to make changes to the software behave as you want? Are you really ‘free’ of used as prefer the smartphone you bought? These are questions that few users do

The conference preceded the ITAM other Stallman gave in the UNAM. // Photo:Xavs _

It is so Stallman mentions Free Software features:

• It is software that can run as you want, for any purpose.
• You ‘visible’ code, so anyone can modify and improve it.
• Provides freedom to make exact to give away or sell them anytime copies.
• Allows you to back to distribute the modified version.

Richard exemplified by Apple’s iPhone. “Apple pioneered the censorship applications with iPhone” said, according to him, it is a computer where the user can only install apps approved by the company.

Otherwise, you can install Android apps that are not exclusively in the store Google. To achieve something in iPhone must make a ‘jailbreak’, fairly complex process which in Spanish means ‘escape from prison’.

The “danger” of everyday

>

As he concluded with the ‘hard’ part, RMS took a bag a robe and halo (which was once a hard disk) and started talking religiously – and highly comical – on free software. // Photo:Xavs _

Software everyday? It is everywhere. From the computer to the fridge, phone and TV screen. In all these devices, software, and mostly is proprietary software.

This allows the manufacturer to control the operation, updates and other items that sometimes involve collect user. According to Stallman, if Microsoft discovers a security flaw is the first shows the NSA so they can use it to spy on users before reporting it and work in a . Solution

That’s why Stallman calls since the beginning of his lecture: “If you take a picture of me, not get on Facebook, because that company has software that recognizes and identifies the face without user consent … “. With this exemplifies the kind of behavior that major companies use in their applications and promoted as something new.

Free Software, not free

For Stallman piracy does not exist in the computer territory; when asked what he thinks of piracy, he responds: “Attacking ships is very bad, send the navy!” . For him, any attempt to prohibit someone to share is an attack on society.

Collect funds for the FSF is a constant work. In the event, RMS announced an auction in which, little by little, unbelievers attendees chose to participate. What it was sold? A book of RMS per 1,900 pesos and a teddy FSF 1,200 pesos. In the photo, the winner of the book gives the details of your credit card. // Photo:Xavs _

On the free software costs – that many misunderstood by the English term ‘free software’ – Richard says that free software is the one that is shared, regardless of who paid for it.

Richard recognizes that in the 80 sold tapes with software $ 150 and made good money .

So, Stallman says, “not bad profit from software, not bad as profit from food. Yes the food is toxic, is unethical. “