This weeks readings are based on two different things, Creative Commons and Free Software. I'll be focusing on Free software.
From the readings I found that free software was defined as "software that gives you the user the freedom to share, study and modify it. We call this free software because the use is free." (Lee, 2011) So from what I gather, free software is things such as Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Itunes, etc. We are able to freely use these products as we wish, but there are extra opportunities within these softwares that require payment and acknowledgement of the original manufacturer.
Proprietary software is the complete opposite of free software, it denies users the freedom and benefits that free software provides. (Lee, 2011) The businesses who produce proprietary software can sometimes "spy" on those who use their products and see whether they are using the product accordingly or going against what was written in the license agreement that the user has to accept upon first use.
Luckily for us there is an entire movement involved in the promotion of free software, the promotion of liberty! This movement is called the "GNU" which is short for "GNU is Not Unix" (Lee, 2011) The goal of this movement is to basically be... free, free to do whatever we want (in relation to software). GNU says that "'Free software' is a matter of liberty, not price." (GNU Operating System, 2010) I find it quite amusing how devoted this movement is. I've heard of other movements that support the prevention of teen suicide/harm but I've never heard of a movement so wholeheartedly committed to software, it's quite... cute in a very absurd way.
Lee, M 2011, What is free software and why is it so important?, viewed 20th September 2011, <http://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software>
GNU Operating System, 2010, viewed 20th September 2011, <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>
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