Why a 40-Year-Old Software Idea Still Saves Your Money (and Freedom) Today

Today, September 27th, marks an important anniversary in the tech world that you might never have heard of. On September 27, 1983, Richard Stallman announced the GNU Project on a few internet mailing lists. The goal was to create a full operating system The core software that manages a computer and lets applications run. This would be Windows or MacOS on computers, Android or iOS for phones, for example. where users owned their software, all the software in the stack, rather than renting it from a company.

GNU started off for programmers, but if you’ve ever felt frustrated by confusing pricing, forced updates, or apps that spy on you or maybe your kids’ homework habits, that's the problem GNU was seeing, and I think it's one we can ALL relate to now.

What does "free" mean here?

When Stallman talked about "free software," he didn’t necessarily mean like "free lunch." He meant free as in "libre." It’s about your freedom to run, study, share, and improve the software on your own because you have access to the source code. This feels more important today than ever where we're stuck in so many costly subscription loops. If you stop paying, you lose access to your files, whcih could be your photos, documents, or basic car features.

The GNU project gave us tools (like compilers and text editors) that make modern personal computing possible. But there’s a common confusion: what about Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. ?

As I explained in my post on What is Linux, Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. is just the " kernel a low-level, core piece of software on a computer that controls fundamental tasks ," which controls a lot of behind-the-scenes pieces of your computer, like making sure the hardware and core parts of the computer work together. The rest is often made of GNU software. That’s why many purists call it GNU/ Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. .

From GNU to GNOME on your Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. desktop

You might be wondering, "What does this have to do with the desktop I see on my screen?"

This is where GNOME comes in. Back in the day, developers people who write software and apps wanted a user-friendly desktop environment that was built 100% on free and open-source Software whose code is publicly available and modifiable. Transparency, collaboration, and often free as in free lunch are important parts of the open source model. software.

What is open source?
What is GNOME?

They started the GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME) as part of the GNU Project. It was intended to be a free and accessible desktop environment that anyone could use, modify, and share.

As the GNOME project grew, it ran into differences from GNU, and kind of developed its own identity. They officially separated from GNU in 2021, after being quite independent anyway for years, and removed GNU from their name, so now "GNOME" is just used as the name, not an acronym anymore.

Why should the average person care?

The problems with privacy and subscriptions and paying for software are not new. People have commented on these issues for decades.

GNU is still around and they offer some GNU/ Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. distros Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system on their website. They also have other free tools. If you're a distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system -hopper, it might be something interesting to try out. If you're an average person, well, I haven't tried them myself, so I don't know how well they work for everyday needs! If you do most of your activities in a browser Lets you visit pages on the internet, examples are Safari, Edge, Firefox, or Brave. , I'd imagine you might be just fine.

GNU isn't going to track you, scan your files, or sell your data. It's part of their mission to offer secure, free, private tools.

With a company creating proprietary, "closed source," software that is not shared, they can shut down or change services leaving users stuck or out of luck. The nice thing about free and open source Software whose code is publicly available and modifiable. Transparency, collaboration, and often free as in free lunch are important parts of the open source model. software is that the community can keep it running even if the original creators leave the project.

Conclusion

The GNU project wants to give people choice. Thanks to organizations like them and vocal advocates like Richard Stallman, you don't have to hand over your privacy and money to a few corporations just to use a computer. We're heading that way, but we're not there yet.

As a mom who participates in school portals, doctor visits, and extracurriculars, I do have to interact with proprietary software, subscriptions, and big tech. But, the thing I CAN do is choose and support tools that don't make spying on me and my family their business model.

So that's why today I wanted to give a shout out to the GNU project and to 1983. Thanks, y'all!

PS

Want to know more?

• Wanna ditch your phone?
• Why I like Linux?
• Want to try Linux out?
• My favorite distro - Zorin

Linux An alternative to Windows or MacOS on computers. distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system tours

These might not strictly be GNU/Linux distros but they're what I've reviewed on this blog:

Check out my distro Bundles the Linux kernel with other software components for a complete operating system tours that I've posted about. These include many screenshots to show you exactly what you'd be getting.

• Zorin OS - look and feel of Windows
• Pop_OS! - good for gaming
• elementaryOS - looks like Mac
• Mint Cinnamon - beginner-friendly with lots of online resources for troubleshooting and community support
• Mint xfce - beginner-friendly with a desktop type meant to be lightweight for old hardware

Image credit: Steward Masweneng https://www.pexels.com/@stewphotography/