GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware

GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware
Anintroduction
MichaelOpdenacker FreeElectrons http://freeelectrons.com

CreatedwithOpenOffice.org2.x
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Rightstocopy
Copyright20042007 FreeElectrons feedback@freeelectrons.com Documentsources,updatesandtranslations:
http://freeelectrons.com/articles/freesw

AttributionShareAlike2.5 Youarefree tocopy,distribute,display,andperformthework tomakederivativeworks tomakecommercialuseofthework Underthefollowingconditions Attribution.Youmustgivetheoriginalauthorcredit. ShareAlike.Ifyoualter,transform,orbuilduponthiswork, youmaydistributetheresultingworkonlyunderalicense identicaltothisone. Foranyreuseordistribution,youmustmakecleartoothersthe licensetermsofthiswork. Anyoftheseconditionscanbewaivedifyougetpermissionfrom thecopyrightholder. Yourfairuseandotherrightsareinnowayaffectedbytheabove. Licensetext:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/2.5/legalcode

Corrections,suggestions,contributionsand translationsarewelcome!

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Contents
Unixanditshistory FreeSoftwarelicensesandlegalissues Freeoperatingsystems Successfulprojecthighlights FreeSoftwareandOpenSourcerules Annexes UsingGNU/Linuxathome

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GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware

Unixanditshistory

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Unixfamilytree
1970 1980 1990 2000 Time FreeBSD OpenBSD NetBSD

BSDfamily
BSD(BerkeleySoftwareDistribution)
BillJoy BillJoy

SunOS(StanfordUniversityNetwork) NextStep BellLabs(AT&T)

KenThompson DennisRitchie(Clanguage createdtoimplementaportableOS)

MacOSX GNU/Linux
LinusTorvalds

GNU
RichardStallman

Youarehere
IRIX(SGI)

SRV5
Ritchie,Thompson

HPUX SunSolaris AIX(IBM)

SystemVfamily

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TheUnixphilosophy
Today'smostpowerfulsystemsarebasedona35yearolddesign! Smallisbeautiful Makeeachprogramdoone thingwell Chooseportabilityover efficiency Avoidcaptiveuserinterfaces Systemabstraction Kernel:hardwarelayer Shell:textmodelayer XWindow:GUIlayer

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MainUnixfeatures
Unixoriginallycreatedforhugemultiusermainframecomputers Multiuserandsecure: Regularuserscan'tmesswith otheruser'sfiles(bydefault) Inparticular,regularusers can'tmodifysystemsettings, can'tremoveprograms,etc. root:administratoruserwith allprivileges Preemptivemultitasking Supportsmultipleprocessors Extremelyflexible Networkingsupport Portability Scalability

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Unixsystemarchitecture
Graphicaluserapplications
Webbrowser,office,multimedia...

Commandlineapplications
ls,mkdir,wget,ssh,gcc,busybox,shells(scripts)...

Userspace

Sharedlibraries
libjpeg,libstdc++,libxml...

Clibrary
GNUClibrary,uClibc...

Operatingsystemkernel
Linux,Hurd...

KernelSpace Hardware

Hardwareandperipherals
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TheGNUProject
GNU=GNUisNotUnix(arecursiveacronym!) Projecttoimplementacompletelyfree Unixlikeoperatingsystem StartedbyRichardStallmanin1984,anMITresearcher,inatime whenUnixsourceswerenolongerfree. Initialcomponents:Ccompiler(gcc),make(GNUmake),Emacs, Clibrary(glibc),coreutils(ls,cp...) However,in1991,theGNUprojectwasstillmissingakerneland wasrunningonlyonproprietaryunice.

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GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware

FreeSoftwarelicensesandlegalissues

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FreeSoftware
FreeSoftwaregrantsthebelow4freedomstotheuser: Thefreedomtoruntheprogram,foranypurpose. Thefreedomtostudyhowtheprogramworks, andadaptittoone'sneeds. Thefreedomtoredistributecopiestohelpothers. Thefreedomtocontributetoone'scommunity: distributingcopiesofone'smodifiedversions. Seehttp://www.gnu.org/philosophy/freesw.html

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BSDlikeFreeSoftwarelicenses
Ofcourse,guaranteethe4freedomstotheusers However,allowstomakeproprietarysoftwarefromit Examplelicenses:BSD,Apache

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TheGNUGeneralPublicLicense(GPL)
ThemajorcontributionfromtheGNUproject! Copyleftlicensesusecopyrightlawstolettheauthorrequire thatmodifiedversionsarefreesoftwaretoo. http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/copyleft.html TheGNUGPLrequiresthatmodificationsandderivedworks areGPLtoo: Onlyappliestoreleasedsoftware AnyprogramusingGPLedcode(eitherbystaticoreven dynamiclinking)isconsideredasanextensionofthiscode GPLFAQ:http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html

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GNULesserGeneralPublicLicense
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/lesser.html CopyleftlicensesimilartotheGNUGPL: Modificationsmustbesharedunderthesameconditions However,permitslinkingwithnonfreemodules UsedbyseveralFreeSoftwarelibraries.Examples: glibc,GTK,Wine,SDL

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GNUGPLv3(1)
ThelatestversionoftheGNUGeneralPublicLicense http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html IncompatiblewithGPLv2 NotallowedtomixGPLv2codewithGPLv3code. ForbidsTivoization:musttelltheusersofconsumerproductshowtomodify GPLv3softwarerunningonit.Mustn'tpreventfromdisablingDRMeither. Exceptionfordevicesexclusivelymeantforbusinessesandorganizations. Givesexplicitpatentprotectionoftheusersfromtheprogram'scontributors andredistributors.ExtendstheNovellMicrosoftpatentprotectiontothe wholecommunity(assoonasNovelldistributesGPLv3software).

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GNUGPLv3(2)
CompatibilitywiththeApachelicense. Betterinternationalization(GPLv2hadaUSlawbias) Smootherterminationterms:violationseasiertoresolve. Nosignificantimpactyet:
ProjectslikeLinuxandBusyBoxwillstayonGPLv2forthemoment. ButGNUprogramswillswitchsoon:gcc,coreutils,binutils... Seehttp://gplv3.fsf.org/static/release/rms_gplv3_launch_high_quality.ogg forashortoverviewvideobyRichardStallman.

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FreeSoftwareandOpenSource
TheFreeSoftwaremovement Principlecenteredapproach Focusesonindividualfreedomandonthesocialusefulnessofcooperation. Seehttp://www.gnu.org/philosophy/freesoftwareforfreedom.html TheOpenSourcemovement Pragmaticapproach Mainlyadvocatestheadvantagesofsharingthesourcesandmakeschoices basedontechnicalsuperiority. Thoughthebasicmotivesaredifferent,bothmovementsworktogetherand getalongverywell!

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OpenSourcelicenses
FromtheOpenSourceInitiative(OSI) http://opensource.org TheOSIhasitsowndefinitionwhichisfortunatelysimilarto thedefinitionofFreeSoftware: http://opensource.org/docs/definition.php ListoflicensesapprovedbytheOSI: http://opensource.org/licenses/ UsefultocheckthatalicenseisOpenSource/FreeSoftware

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IssueswithFreeSoftwarelicenses(1)
Lackofjurisprudence ThoughthelicensesarebasedonCopyrightlaw,theenforceabilityof FreeSoftwarelicensesdependsonlocallawandhasseldombeentested incourt(justinafewcountries). NumberofFreeSoftware/OpenSourcelicensestomanage Fortunately,mosttoolsuseaverylimitedsetoflicenses. LicensestatisticsfromtheFreshmeatsoftwarecatalog: http://freshmeat.net/stats/#license GPL:66.3%,LGPL:6.4%,BSD:5.6%(October2006)

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IssueswithFreeSoftwarelicenses(2)
Copyrightownership Dothecopyrightownersreallyownthecode? Thecodecouldbeownedbytheiremployersor bysomeoneelse.Nowayforuserstocheck. Theyneedtohavetrustintheprojectmaintainer.
Alsotruewith proprietary software!

Mixingcode Maynotbeallowedtomixcodewithdifferentlicenses. ListoflicensescompatibleandincompatiblewiththeGPL: http://gnu.org/licenses/licenselist.html#GPLCompatibleLicenses Softwarepatents Insomecountries,FreeSoftwarewithlegitimatecopyrightmaynotbeusedif itinfringessoftwarepatents.

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Softwarepatents:thebiglegalthreat
Softwareimplementationsverywellprotectedinternationallyby CopyrightLaw.Thisisautomatic,nopaperwork. However,incountriesliketheUSAorJapan,itisnowlegaltopatent whatthesoftwaredoes,insteadofprotectingonlytheimplementation. Patentscanbeusedtopreventanyonefromreusingorevenimproving analgorithmoranidea! Deadlyforsoftwarecompetitionandinnovation:can'twriteany programwithoutreusinganytechniqueorideafromanyone. Seehttp://wiki.ffii.org/SwpatAnim050418Enforananimatedintroduction

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Softwarepatentshallofshame
Theprogressionbar Amazon1click,Amazon giftordering Electronicshoppingcart Compressingand decompressingtextfiles Compressioninmobile communication Digitalsignaturewithextra info Hypermedialinking

Seehttp://swpat.ffii.org/patents/samples/index.en.html formoreexamples
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Howtoavoidsoftwarepatentissues
Appliestoowhenyoudevelopinsoftwarepatentfreeareas. Youmaynotbeabletoexportyourproducts. Alwayspreferpatentfreealternatives (PNGinsteadofGIF,LinuxRTAIinsteadofRTLinux,etc.) Exceptfortheabovewellknownpatents,betternottocheckwhether yourprojectsinfringessoftwarepatents.Giventhecomplexityand numberofsoftwarepatents,itisbestwhenyouignorethatyouwere infringingsomeofthem. Don'tfilepatentsonyoursoftwareideasonyourturn.Thismay exposeyoumoretopatentrisk.Youwillloseagainstsoftwaregiants.

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Legalsupport
Whenlawyersareafteryou,ortoavoidlegaltrouble...
Freesupport USA TheElectronicFrontierFoundation http://eff.org/ EuropeanUnion TheFoundationforaFree InformationInfrastructure http://ffii.org FreeSoftwareandOpenSource legalconsulting,supportandinsurance SoftwareFreedomLawCenter http://www.softwarefreedom.org/ OpenSourceRiskManagement http://www.osriskmanagement.com/

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Roomforproprietarysoftware
WithGNU/Linux,youcanstilluseandcreateproprietarysoftware ThefactthattheLinuxkernelisGPLdoesn'tcreateany requirementforuserapplications. MostlibrarieshaveLGPLorBSDlicenses. Youcancreateproprietaryapplicationslinkedwiththem. Needtobecarefulwithexceptionsthough. So,thedecisionisyours!

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GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware

Freeoperatingsystems

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Linux
FreeUnixlikekernelcreatedin1991byLinusTorvalds ThewholesystemusesGNUtools: Clibrary,gcc,binutils,fileutils,make,emacs... SothewholesystemiscalledGNU/Linux Sharedveryearlyasfreesoftware(GPLlicense),which attractedmoreandmorecontributorsandusers. Since1991,growingfasterthananyotheroperatingsystem (notonlyUnix).

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HowtopronounceLinux?
Everylanguageand/orcountrycanhaveitsownway,ofcourse. InEnglish,it'sdifficulttoguess! Atleast,here'showLinusTorvaldspronouncesit: http://freeelectrons.com/pub/audio/torvaldssayslinux.ogg

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GNU/Linuxdistributions
Takecareofreleasingacompatiblesetofkernel,Clibrary,compilers andtools...Alotofworkindeed! Toolsavailableinpackageswhichcanbeeasilyinstalled,removedor upgraded.Toolversiondependenciesareautomaticallymanaged. Commercialdistributions:includesupport. Sourcesarefreebutusuallynotbinaries. Communitydistributions:bothsourcesandbinariesarefree. Nosupportbydefault. Don'tconfusethedistributionversionwiththeLinuxkernelversion!

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Commercialdistributions
RedHat:http://www.redhat.com/ Themostpopular.Reliable,safe,userfriendly,easytoinstall, supportedbyallhardwareandsoftwarevendors. Suse(Novell):http://www.suse.com/ Themainalternative.Easytoinstall,userfriendly,stable. Gettingsupportbyhardwareandsoftwarevendors. Mandriva(formerlyMandrake):http://mandrivalinux.com/ Userfriendly,easytoinstall,moreinnovative,butlessstable. Moretargetedtoindividualusers.Littlevendorsupport.

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Communitydistributions(1)
FedoraCore:http://fedora.redhat.com/ Stable,secure,userfriendly,easytoinstall.Frequentfullreleases. Debian:http://debian.org/ Verystableandsafe,butmoredifficulttoconfigureandinstall. Developerbutnouserfriendlyyet.Stablereleasesnotfrequent enough(every2or3years).Greatforservers,butnotforbeginners! UbuntuLinux:http://ubuntulinux.org/ Thegrowingcommunitydistribution.Debianbasedbutstable releasesevery6months.Longtermsupportcommitment (5years!).Userfriendly.Greatforbothbeginnersandexperts!

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Communitydistributions(2)
MandrivaCommunity:http://mandrivalinux.com/ Easytoinstall,secure,userfriendly,frequentfullreleases, butlessstable(notenoughtestingandtakinguserfeedbackinto account). GentooLinux:http://gentoo.org/ Createdtoreachthehighestlevelsofcustomizability. MostpackagescompiledfromsourcebytheuserwithCPU optimizations.PortedtomostarchitecturessupportedbytheLinux kernel.Frequentreleases.Greatdocumentation. Notforbeginnersthoughgreatforlearning!

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Livedistributions(1)
Linuxbootsfromremovablestorage(CDROM,DVDROMor USBstick)andrunseverythingfromthestoragemedium. GreattotryGNU/Linuxandfreesoftwareapplications withoutinstallinganythingontheharddrives! Thesystemisupandrunningin2or3minutes. MuchfasterthaninstallingandconfiguringGNU/Linux! AlsousefultorescuedatawhentheOSnolongerboots. Usecompressiontostoreupto34timesthestoragecapacity! Listoflivedistros:http://frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

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Livedistributions(2)
Knoppix:http://knoppix.net/ Themostpopular.AvailableinbothCDandDVD. Greatatautoconfiguringyourhardware! Ubuntu:http://ubuntulinux.org/ ShipsaliveCDwitheachrelease(every6months). Actually,thelatestreleasesareliveCDstoo.

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Microkernelsystems
GNU/Hurd:http://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd.html GNUtoolswiththeHurd,theGNUkernel(microkernel) Gettingmature,butnotenoughyetforgeneraluse. MainlyusedbyHurddeveloperssofar(2005). Minix:http://www.minix3.org/ ThesystemthatmadeLinusbelievethatwritingakernelwaseasy! CreatedbyAndrewTanenbaum. Versions1and2(nonfree)wereintendedtobeusedatteachingtools. Version3'sgoals:serioussystemonresourcelimitedandembeddedcomputers andforapplicationsrequiringhighreliability.Notmatureyet! BeingportedtoXscaleandPowerPC. License:BSD
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BSDFamily
License:BSD! FreeBSD:http://www.freebsd.org/ Powerful,multiplatform,secure, andpopularBSDsystem. OpenBSD:http://openbsd.org/ Builtforextremesecurityandreliability. PopularinInternetservers. NetBSD:http://netbsd.org/ BSDdistributiondesignedforportability (availableonARMandothers)

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OtherfreeUnixsystems
SystemVfamily OpenSolaris:http://opensolaris.org/ TheOpenSourcecoreofSunSolaris. Lackingstableandsupporteddistributions(Apr.2007). Others ECOS:http://ecos.sourceware.org/ Verylightweightrealtimeembeddedsystem contributedbyRedHat/Cygnussolutions. POSIXcompliantAPI.

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NonUnixsystems
ReactOShttp://reactos.org Freeoperatingsystemtargetingcompatibility withWindowsXPdriversandapplications.

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OSroadmap

MarketShare 100%

Youarehere

Windows

GNU/Linux

CyborgOS

MatrixOS

0% 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

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GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware

Successfulprojecthighlights

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Linuxkernel
http://kernel.org AfreeUnixlikeoperatingsystemkernel License:GPL Maindevelopers:community BigsupportandfundingbyOpenSourceDevelopmentLabs ThepreferredoperatingsysteminInternetservers,in computefarms.Roughlythesamemarketshare asWindowsCEinembeddedsystems.

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GNU
GNUisNotUnixhttp://gnu.org Mainlicenses:GPLandLGPL Developers:community SupportandleadershipfromtheFreeSoftwareFoundation TogetherwiththeLinuxkernel,verysuccessfulinserversand computefarms.Lessusedinembeddedsystems(toobig).

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Apache
http://httpd.apache.org WebserverfromtheApacheFoundation License:Apachelicense(BSDtype) ThemostpopularwebserveronInternetsinceApril1996! http://news.netcraft.com/archives/web_server_survey.html Supportedplatforms: UnixandWindowsNT Maindevelopers: community

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MySQL
ThemostpopularOpenSourcedatabaseserver http://www.mysql.com License:GNUGPL Maindevelopers:MySQLAB Makemoneyonserviceand onsellingcommerciallicenses Fastandeasytoconfigure
Source:JoinVisionEServicesGmbH,July2006 Nicemarketshare! http://www.mysql.com/whymysql/marketshare

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LAMP
LinuxApacheMySQLPHP Popularacronymreferringtothesuccessfulcombinationof these4technologiestoimplementdynamicwebsites. Pcanalsostandforotherscriptinglanguages, suchasPythonorPerl. Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAMP_%28software_bundle%29

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PHP
PHPHypertextProcessor(recursiveacronym) http://php.net License:PHPlicense(Copyleft) Maindevelopers:community,ZendTechnologies(business model:serviceandproprietaryPHPdevelopmenttools) ScriptinglanguagededicatedtothegenerationofHTMLpages onwebservers.CompetitortoMSASP,SunJava/JSP,Perl... Extremelypopularinwebservers.Lotsofreadymade componentsavailable.

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TheGIMP
TheGNUImageManipulationProgram http://gimp.org License:GPL Maindevelopers:community Extremelypowerfulimageprocessor SimilartoPhotoshop Platforms:Unix/Linux/MacOSX,Windows Extensibleandscriptablethroughplugins.

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Busybox
http://busybox.net AverylightweightimplementationofmanyUnixcommands, includingaDHCPclientandawebserver! License:GPL Maindevelopers:CodePoetConsulting ShippedinmostLinuxembeddedsystems ShouldcallthesystemBusybox/Linux Ittotalsizedoesn'texceed500K (staticallycompiledwithuClibc)

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OpenOffice.org
Fullfeaturedandpopularfreeofficesuite http://openoffice.org/ License:LGPL(sinceversion2.0) Maindeveloper:SunMicrosystems,withsupportfromabig community.Businessmodel:sellingdesktopsolutions withoutMicrosoftsoftware. Supportedplatforms:Unix,Windows,MacOSX EatingupMSOffice'smarketshare(inparticularin administrations).

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Inkscape
Avectorgraphicseditor http://inkscape.org License:GNUGPL Developers:community Supportedplatforms:Linux/ Unix,WindowsandMacOSX CompetingwithCorelDrawand AdobeIllustrator

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MozillaFirefox
Today'smostadvancedandfriendlywebbrowser http://mozilla.org/projects/firefox License:MPL(copylefttype) Maindevelopers:MozillaFoundation,community Supportedplatforms:Unix/Linux,Windows,MacOSX AveryseriouscompetitortoInternetExplorer, whichdevelopmentwasstoppedforyears! Marketshare(March2007):24%inEurope. Itevenreaches44%inSlovenia,41%inFinlandand36%inGermany! Morestatisticsonhttp://www.xitimonitor.com.

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Othersuccessfulprojects
KDE Gnome Perl Python gcc Evolution Eclipse Blender WikiPedia Bugzilla ...andmanyotherexamples! AlternativestoWindowsprograms: http://linux.ie/newusers/alternatives.php
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GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware

FreeSoftwareandOpenSourcerules

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What'sneededtomakeaprojectsuccessful
AFreeSoftwarelicense! AnInternetwebsite!Freedownloads. Ausercommunity Active,continueddevelopment Flexibility,customizability

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Whatcanhelptomakeaprojectsuccessful(1)
Attractive/uniquefeatures (counterexamples:projectsatthebeginning,likeLinux) Openandeasydevelopment (counterexamples:MozillaandOpenOffice) Interoperability,compliancetostandards Alternativetoanothersolution(oftenproprietary) Costdifference Clearprojectguidance/leadership. Otherwise,youcancreatebloat.
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Whatcanhelptomakeaprojectsuccessful(2)
Money.Notmandatorybutreallyhelps (Mozilla,OpenOffice). Goodcommunication.Needtoadvertisetheirworkand attractusersandcontributors. Communitycommunicationtools:mailinglists,Wiki,IRC, webforum. Bugtrackingtools:Bugzilla. Opendevelopment:public(read)accesstothesource repository.

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Unwrittenrules
Communityprojects.Howtochoosedecisionmakers? Thosewhocontributemost. Diversityisalwaysvalued. New,alternativeprojectsarealwayswelcome. Thoushaltnotfork. Keepthecommunityunited.

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Businessmodels
MoneycanbemadewithFreeSoftware! Service! Originaldevelopershaveacompetitiveedge Duallicensing FreeGPLedition(wouldn'tworkwithBSD!) Commerciallicenseforanyotheruses Customorfirstdevelopment.

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Businessmodelconstraints
CompetitionYouhavetoremainthebestsupplier. Novendorlockin. Needtocreaterealaddedvalues,noroyalties. Youcanswitchthesoftwareyoucreatetoaproprietary version,butnottheversionsyoualreadyreleased. Bewareofforkingandcompetition!

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Howtomakeyourprojectsuccessful
Leteveryonecontributeaccordingtotheirskillsandinterests. Encourageinformationsharing:wiki,mailinglist(+archives). Releaseearly,releaseoften. Acceptusefulcontributionsandrecognizecontributors. Haveanopendevelopment. Makesurestatusanddocumentationareuptodate. Publicizeyourprogresstobroaderaudiences.

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Usefulreading
TheCathedralandtheBazaar,EricS.Raymond http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedralbazaar OpenSources,VoicesfromtheOpenSourceRevolution http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/toc.html

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GNU/LinuxandFreeSoftware

Annex
UsingGNU/Linuxathome

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GNU/Linuxathome(1)
GNU/LinuxisalsoagreatalternativetoWindowsforhomeusers Security
Virusfree Mostvirusesaredesignedto exploitWindowssecurityflaws andhavenoimpactonGNU/ Linux Virusproof EvenifyouexecutedaLinux compatiblevirus,itwouldn'thave permissionstomodifythesystem. Mistakeproof Otherfamilymemberscan't modifythesystemorsomebody else'sfileseither.Theycanonly damagetheirownfiles. Crackerrepellent Evenalwaysconnectedtothe Internet,yoursystemattracts crackersless.

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GNU/Linuxathome(2)
Privacy
Yoursystemwon'tsilentlycollect andtransmitinformationabout yourmovieorwebsite preferences.

Freedom
Datayoucreateareyours forever.Theyarenottiedtoa proprietaryapplicationthrougha proprietary(sometimes patented!)format. Youarefreetohelpyour neighborsbysharingyour programswiththem. Youarefreetouseyourhome programsatworktoo!

Userfriendliness
Yourprogramsaremadeforusers byusers.Theyaremorelikelyto satisfyyourneeds. Developerscaneasilybe contactedtosuggestnewfeatures.

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GNU/Linuxathome(3)
YoucanmigratetoGNU/Linuxfor: Officework:wordprocessor,spreadsheet,presentations Internet:webbrowsingandemail Multimedia:video,soundandgraphics(includingdigitalcameras) Learningaboutcomputersandcomputerprogramming IfyoustillhaveacopyofWindows,youcankeepit(doubleboot)for: Gaming.MostconsumergamesstillsupportWindowsorMaconly. Usingspecificproprietaryprogramsoreducationalcdroms UsinghardwarenotsupportedyetonGNU/Linux

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GNU/LinuxalternativestoWindowstools
InternetExplorer IIS Money MSOffice MSOutlook MSProject Nero Photoshop WinAmp W.MediaPlayer Mozilla Firefox Apache GNUCash OpenOffice Evolution MrProject (Planner) k3b TheGIMP xmms xine mplayer Morealternatives: http://linux.ie/newusers/alternatives.php

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UsingGNU/Linuxdistributions
GNU/Linuxdistributions LetyouinstallGNU/Linuxonfreespaceonyourharddisk,andstill keepWindows(doubleboot) Haveaveryuserfriendlyinstallinginterfacewhichcanautomatically detectmosthardware.Youdon'thaveanydrivertoinstall! That'seveneasierthaninstallingWindows! Letyouchoosethetypesofapplicationstoinstall Provideuserfriendlyconfigurationinterface Recommendeddistributionsforbeginners: Ubuntu,FedoraCoreorMandriva

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Relateddocuments

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