Free software, free society: Richard Stallman at TEDxGeneva 2014

You and all of the "Free Software" world have different definitions on free. I'd recommend this[1] talk by Richard Stallman, it's pretty basic, but it gets the idea across well. [1] [VIDEO]

Sounds very frustrating. I don't use Windows on any of the computers I own. I prefer to have more control over my computer so I use Linux. I still have to use Windows at work, but I don't admin those machines so I don't have a lot of control / choice in the matter. Food for thought about who controls your computer: [VIDEO]

Windows is closed source, full of ads and telemetry, and increasingly user hostile. MacOS is a mostly closed source, expensive, user-condescending walled garden. Linux, BSDs, and free / open source operating systems give the user freedom and control over their computing experience: [VIDEO]

The four freedoms that free software guarantee are essential for people to be in control of their own computing. Are you in control of your computer, or does your computer control you? [VIDEO] People get angry and frustrated when a big tech company makes a decision that is user-hostile, but benefits the tech company's profits. This is to be expected because in almost all cases, the big tech company has no obligation other than to maximize profits. The four freedoms help to put a check on the power of big tech companies by providing alternatives that keep power in the hands of the user. That does not mean that free software and big tech companies cannot coexist or even thrive together. Red Hat was built on free software. System76 sells hardware that runs mostly free software.

"Open Source" terminology emphasizes its technical superiority as a development method. "Free Software" terminology emphasizes its ethical necessity to maintain a free society. One is technical, one is political/ideological. Open source advocates don't care about politics, Free software advocates think technical superiority is unimportant in a non-free society. Stallman's own words on this distinction in this video: [VIDEO]

Apple may sell you a computer, but ultimately you do not control it. Who really controls your computer: [VIDEO]

As Richard Stallman puts it "either the user controls the program or the program controls the user." [VIDEO]

>> if Microsoft were to ban my account [1], could they then stop me from opening my backup files on a new machine, even if I made a new account? If your documents are tagged with the banned account info, it certainly seems possible. It seems like a really dirty thing to do, but there are lots of HN users who are against the Microsoft account requirement for Windows 11: [LINK] Possible issues like these are one reason why free and open source software exist: [VIDEO]