"Free software is like a public park and proprietary software is like a fenced-off private playground."
Richard Stallman's quote suggests that free software, symbolized by a public park, is accessible to all users without restrictions or fees. This equates to an open environment where collaboration, innovation, and equal access are the norm. On the other hand, proprietary software resembles a fenced-off private playground, meaning it's privately owned and controlled, which may limit access, impose usage rules, and prevent users from modifying or improving the software themselves. This quote emphasizes the importance of freedom in technology, promoting openness, collaboration, and user control over their digital tools.
"The social impact of using software that respects your freedom is very different from the social impact of using software that doesn't."
This quote by Richard Stallman highlights the profound difference between using free software, which respects user freedoms, and non-free software. The use of free software promotes a society where individuals have control over their digital tools, fostering a culture of cooperation, transparency, and empowerment. On the other hand, the use of non-free software can lead to a society with fewer choices, less control, and potentially exploitative business practices. In essence, using free software supports a more equitable and democratic digital landscape, while using non-free software may contribute to an environment where power is concentrated among a few entities.
"If computing is to be a creative and beneficial activity for society, its users need to have control over their own tools."
This quote emphasizes that for computing to truly serve society positively, it's crucial that users have control over the tools they use. In other words, for creativity and societal benefit, individuals should be empowered to shape and direct their technology, rather than being controlled by it. Control over tools allows for innovation, customization, and ethical use, ensuring that technology aligns with our values and serves our needs as a society.
"Information wants to be free"
Richard Stallman's quote, "Information wants to be free," is a philosophical assertion advocating for the unfettered access and sharing of information. This perspective promotes the idea that knowledge should not be subjected to ownership or monetary control, but rather shared freely among individuals and communities. The quote is a cornerstone of the open-source software movement, which Stallman co-founded, as it encourages collaboration and the development of universal tools without proprietary restrictions. The essence of this statement lies in the belief that progress, innovation, and learning thrive best when there are no barriers to knowledge exchange.
"The Golden Rule of Unix: Anything anyone ever puts into a computer system should be able to be got out again, if necessary, by a human being."
Richard Stallman's quote emphasizes the importance of data accessibility and transparency in computing systems, particularly in the context of Unix. The "Golden Rule" implies that all data or information added to a system should be retrievable by humans at any time, ensuring non-proprietary, open standards that promote freedom and control over one's own data. This perspective underpins much of the open-source software movement, where users have the ability to inspect, modify, and distribute code, fostering innovation and collaboration.
Facebook mistreats its users. Facebook is not your friend; it is a surveillance engine. For instance, if you browse the Web and you see a 'like' button in some page or some other site that has been displayed from Facebook. Therefore, Facebook knows that your machine visited that page.
- Richard Stallman
Proprietary software keeps users divided and helpless. Divided because each user is forbidden to redistribute it to others, and helpless because the users can't change it since they don't have the source code. They can't study what it really does. So the proprietary program is a system of unjust power.
- Richard Stallman
One reason you should not use web applications to do your computing is that you lose control. It's just as bad as using a proprietary program. Do your own computing on your own computer with your copy of a freedom-respecting program. If you use a proprietary program or somebody else's web server, you're defenceless.
- Richard Stallman
In the US, you even lose legal rights if you store your data in a company's machines instead of your own. The police need to present you with a search warrant to get your data from you; but if they are stored in a company's server, the police can get it without showing you anything.
- Richard Stallman
In the U.S., you even lose legal rights if you store your data in a company's machines instead of your own. The police need to present you with a search warrant to get your data from you; but if they are stored in a company's server, the police can get it without showing you anything. They may not even have to give the company a search warrant.
- Richard Stallman
A smartphone is a computer - it's not built using a computer - the job it does is the job of being a computer. So, everything we say about computers, that the software you run should be free - you should insist on that - applies to smart phones just the same. And likewise to those tablets.
- Richard Stallman
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