free software
9
3.2
- noun
- /fri ˈsɔftwɛr/
- Specialized
:
software libre
- Many people appreciate free software because it allows them to modify and share it freely.
- free software available
- free software program
- built with free software
So what I would say is this is if you have a computer that you would like to try free software, a lot of these distributions make what's called a live CD or a live USB.
- So what I would say is this is if you have a computer that you would like to try free software, a lot of these distributions make what's called a live CD or a live USB.
- And he said, you haven't heard of, of Mosaic because that, that was this free software you could get that would surf the Web.
Examples
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Internet-only access providers either supply software or suggest logging onto the Internet and downloading the necessary free software.
Academic text (1995) -
Peer-to-peer file sharing and free software are other examples of the gift economy.
Blog text (23) -
I talked about the role of free software in building the Internet.
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Are you more interested in getting the very latest free software, or do you care more about security?
Blog text (2) -
The internet has brought about an explosion of free software that seems to just keep going strong.
Blog text (16) -
You can optimize your computer on your own with free software and a little patience.
Blog text (19) -
Without a doubt, we need a decentralized, free software system for sharing our photos and videos.
Blog text (14) -
Simply download and install the free software, then add our podcast feed to your subscriptions.
Blog text (20) -
Recently, the FSF has started accepting donations directed toward particular free software problem areas in need of development.
Blog text (14) -
Just over a year ago I built a Nas, a network attached storage device using a Raspberry Pi Four and the free software Open Media Vault.
Synonyms
51
3.7
Software that has code anyone can read, change, and share
Antonyms
How Free
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'free' primarily as 'without charge' and 'software' as computer programs will most likely infer 'software that costs nothing', not the technical sense of freedom to use, modify, and redistribute. The specialized, ideological meaning ('freedom' rather than price) is a convention of the computing community and is not predictably derivable from the common constituent meanings, so the phrase is opaque to most learners.
Etymology
The name free software comes from the idea that the program is 'free' because anyone can 'use', 'change', and 'share' it. Think of a book you can write in and give to friends. That's why free software means software you can change and give to others without limits, not just something that 'costs nothing'.