Our local newsagent tends not to stock much in the way of Linux-related magazines (none, in fact, not even the relatively widely circulated Linux Format). So, in a slightly bored moment, I bought a copy of PC Freeware.
Now, before I go on, it might be worth explaining that ‘freeware’ is a rather ambiguous term, because there is in fact more than one type of ‘free’ when in comes to software.
The first is ‘free as in no cost’ – this is what people typically think of when referring to free software. It costs them no money to use, it can be downloaded, say, for free. Fine, that’s easy. Sometimes this is called “free as in beer”.
The second type of free is ‘free as in freedom’: this is a little different. This means you are free to ‘do what you like’ with the software, such as modify the program yourself and distribute changes, or to make copies of the program for others to use. This is sometimes referred to as “free as in speech”.
In French, there are two words for the different types of free: gratuit and libre.
Now, most of the software which this particular magazine is aimed at is the first type: free as in no cost, free beer. I guess that’s pretty reasonable at first glance, because that’s what the typical end user will be interested in. However, the second type of free should not be dismissed.
No cost is always nice, but having the freedom to modify and improve the software is also important, not only for some technically-inclined individuals, but for the software-using community at large. Software which is “free as in speech” does not rely on any company selling it to fix bugs in functionality or in security. This is a major point. In particular, software made by Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec etc. can only ever be fixed by that company, even if the software is actually “free as in no cost” (such as Internet Explorer). This means that if a company folds, or just decides to give up on a particular piece of (no-cost) software, the end users are essentially stuffed. With “free as in freedom” software, the source code is available for any (technically-inclined) individual to fix and improve.
The magazine does mention a number of products which are both gratuit and libre, although the latter factor is not really given much weight.
Most commerical software fulfils the criteria of neither of the “free” criteria (e.g Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop etc.) Most software referred to as “free and open-source software (FOSS), meets both definitions of free.