Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer.

Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:

The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay for permission.

You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they exist. If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.

The freedom to run the program means the freedom for any kind of person or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind of overall job and purpose, without being required to communicate about it with the developer or any other specific entity. In this freedom, it is the user's purpose that matters, not the developer's purpose; you as a user are free to run a program for your purposes, and if you distribute it to someone else, she is then free to run it for her purposes, but you are not entitled to impose your purposes on her.

The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and unmodified versions. (Distributing programs in runnable form is necessary for conveniently installable free operating systems.) It is ok if there is no way to produce a binary or executable form for a certain program (since some languages don't support that feature), but you must have the freedom to redistribute such forms should you find or develop a way to make them.

Answered by raj u , an ibibo Master, at 2:27 PM on October 20, 2008

Free software or software libre is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things. In practice, for software to be distributed as free software, the human-readable form of the program (the source code) must be made available to the recipient along with a notice granting the above permissions. Such a notice is a "free software licence", or, in theory, could be a notice saying that the source code is released into the public domain.

The free software movement was conceived in 1983 by Richard Stallman to make these freedoms available to every computer user.[1] From the late 1990s onward, alternative terms for free software came into use. The most common are "software libre", "free and open source software" ("FOSS") and "free, libre and open-source software" ("FLOSS"). The antonym of free software is "proprietary software" or "non-free software".

The often used term "open source" should be avoided when talking about "free software" as the open source movement doesn't have the same philosophy as the free software movement.[2][3]

Free software is distinct from "freeware" which is proprietary software made available free of charge. Users usually cannot study, modify, or redistribute freeware.

Since free software may be freely redistributed, it generally is available at little or no cost. Free software business models are usually based on adding value such as support, training, customization, integration, or certification. At the same time, some business models which work with proprietary software are not compatible with free software, such as those that depend on a user paying for a licence in order to lawfully use a software product.

Answered by BAGYALAKSHMI , an ibibo Advisor, at 2:06 PM on October 19, 2008

Software that is free of restrictions and which may be free of charge. Free software licenses grant users the freedom to use it for any purpose, study and change the source code and copy and redistribute the software with or without modifications. Free software must come with source code or provide access to it, while the freedom to redistribute includes the right to give away copies gratis as well as sell copies.

Occasionally, free software comes from proprietary products that were liberated by their developers; for example, the proprietary Netscape Web browser was later turned into the free software Mozilla and Firefox browsers.However, most free software is intentionally written to be free, the most notable of which is the GNU/Linux operating system

Answered by Shishir , an ibibo Master, at 12:42 PM on October 19, 2008

Free software is software that may be modified and redistributed freely by anyone, with no significant restrictions on how the code may be changed, the uses to which it may be put, or the parties with whom it may be shared.

From this simple definition flow many unexpected consequences. Today, free software is a large body of high-quality code on which much of the internet depends for critical functions, and it constitutes the core operating system for an increasing number of desktop machines as well. But free software is much more than just a collection of programs. It is also a political movement, a programming methodology, and a business model--although not necessarily to the same people at the same time. Indeed, even the term free software is controversial; as we'll see later, some people prefer to call it open source software. The story of how free software became so technologically successful, even as it became ideologically fractious, starts in the early days of the computer industry.

Answered by NIVEDITA , an ibibo Master, at 11:47 AM on October 19, 2008

Free software is software that can be freely used, modified, and redistributed with only one restriction: any redistributed version of the software must be distributed with the original terms of free use, modification, and distribution (known as copyleft). The definition of free software is stipulated as part of the GNU Project and by the Free Software Foundation. Free software may may be packaged and distributed for a fee; the "free" refers to the ability to reuse it, modified or unmodified, as part of another software package. As part of the ability to modify, users of free software may also have access to and study the source code.
The concept of free software is the brainchild of Richard Stallman, head of the GNU Project. The best known example of free software is Linux, an operating system that is proposed as an alternative to Windows or other proprietary operating systems. Debian is an example of a distributor of a Linux package.

Free software is easily confused with freeware, a term describing software that can be freely downloaded and used but which may contain restrictions for modification and reuse.

http://searchenterpriselin ux.techtarget.com/sDefinition/ 0,,sid39_gci882209,00.html

Answered by Nishu's , an ibibo Master, at 11:12 AM on October 19, 2008

Free software is software that may be modified and redistributed freely by anyone, with no significant restrictions on how the code may be changed, the uses to which it may be put, or the parties with whom it may be shared.

From this simple definition flow many unexpected consequences. Today, free software is a large body of high-quality code on which much of the internet depends for critical functions, and it constitutes the core operating system for an increasing number of desktop machines as well. But free software is much more than just a collection of programs. It is also a political movement, a programming methodology, and a business model--although not necessarily to the same people at the same time. Indeed, even the term free software is controversial; as we'll see later, some people prefer to call it open source software. The story of how free software became so technologically successful, even as it became ideologically fractious, starts in the early days of the computer industry.


Visit: http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/on lamp/2005/09/29/what-is-free-s oftware.html

Answered by Alok , an ibibo Master, at 9:06 AM on October 19, 2008

well,Free Software, as used in this web site, refers to software distributed in source form which can be freely modified and redistributed, or freely modifiable and redistributable software. It does not refer to zero-cost software. This usage of the name "Free Software" was common in the Unix world and recently introduced to the general computer community. Free Software is also referred to as Freed Software, Liberated Software (software libre) or FRS (freely redistributable software).

Answered by Debashis , an ibibo Master, at 7:15 AM on October 19, 2008

Free software or software libre is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things. In practice, for software to be distributed as free software, the human-readable form of the program (the source code) must be made available to the recipient along with a notice granting the above permissions. Such a notice is a "free software licence", or, in theory, could be a notice saying that the source code is released into the public domain.

The free software movement was conceived in 1983 by Richard Stallman to make these freedoms available to every computer user.[1] From the late 1990s onward, alternative terms for free software came into use. The most common are "software libre", "free and open source software" ("FOSS") and "free, libre and open-source software" ("FLOSS"). The antonym of free software is "proprietary software" or "non-free software".

The often used term "open source" should be avoided when talking about "free software" as the open source movement doesn't have the same philosophy as the free software movement.[2][3]

Free software is distinct from "freeware" which is proprietary software made available free of charge. Users usually cannot study, modify, or redistribute freeware.

Since free software may be freely redistributed, it generally is available at little or no cost. Free software business models are usually based on adding value such as support, training, customization, integration, or certification. At the same time, some business models which work with proprietary software are not compatible with free software, such as those that depend on a user paying for a licence in order to lawfully use a software product.

Source Site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki /Free_software

Answered by Deepak , an ibibo Master, at 6:57 AM on October 19, 2008

Today, free software is a large body of high-quality code on which much of the internet depends for critical functions. But free software is much more than a collection of programs. Karl Fogel examines free software under three different lights: as a political movement; as a programming methodology; and as a business model. Karl is the author of Producing Open Source Software.

Answered by Anand , an ibibo Citizen, at 6:00 AM on October 19, 2008