www/philosophy why-free.html

[Richard M. Stallman]

CVSROOT:        /webcvs/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Richard M. Stallman <rms>       09/10/18 02:54:16

Modified files:
        philosophy     : why-free.html 

Log message:
        Update the examples of commercial and government support.
        Other punctuation and minor changes.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/why-free.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.50&r2=1.51

Patches:
Index: why-free.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/philosophy/why-free.html,v
retrieving revision 1.50
retrieving revision 1.51
diff -u -b -r1.50 -r1.51
--- why-free.html       5 Sep 2009 21:35:10 -0000       1.50
+++ why-free.html       18 Oct 2009 02:54:07 -0000      1.51
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@
 use.</p>
 
 <p>
-The copyright system grew up with printing&mdash;a technology for mass
-production copying.  Copyright fit in well with this technology
+The copyright system grew up with printing&mdash;a technology for
+mass-production copying.  Copyright fit in well with this technology
 because it restricted only the mass producers of copies.  It did not
 take freedom away from readers of books.  An ordinary reader, who did
 not own a printing press, could copy books only with pen and ink, and
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@
 One reason is an overstretched analogy with material objects.  When I
 cook spaghetti, I do object if someone else eats it, because then I
 cannot eat it.  His action hurts me exactly as much as it benefits
-him; only one of us can eat the spaghetti, so the question is, which?
+him; only one of us can eat the spaghetti, so the question is, which one?
 The smallest distinction between us is enough to tip the ethical
 balance.</p>
 
@@ -190,13 +190,13 @@
 <p>
 But the economic argument has a flaw: it is based on the assumption
 that the difference is only a matter of how much money we have to pay.
-It assumes that &ldquo;production of software&rdquo; is what we want,
+It assumes that <i>production of software</i> is what we want,
 whether the software has owners or not.</p>
 
 <p>
 People readily accept this assumption because it accords with our
 experiences with material objects.  Consider a sandwich, for instance.
-You might well be able to get an equivalent sandwich either free or
+You might well be able to get an equivalent sandwich either gratis or
 for a price.  If so, the amount you pay is the only difference.
 Whether or not you have to buy it, the sandwich has the same taste,
 the same nutritional value, and in either case you can only eat it
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@
 lose freedom to control part of their own lives.</p>
 
 <p>
-And above all society needs to encourage the spirit of voluntary
+And, above all, society needs to encourage the spirit of voluntary
 cooperation in its citizens.  When software owners tell us that
 helping our neighbors in a natural way is &ldquo;piracy&rdquo;, they
 pollute our society's civic spirit.</p>
@@ -246,11 +246,10 @@
 than those people write, we need to raise funds.</p>
 
 <p>
-For ten years now, free software developers have tried various methods
+Since the 1980s, free software developers have tried various methods
 of finding funds, with some success.  There's no need to make anyone
-rich; the median US family income, around $35k, proves to be
-enough incentive for many jobs that are less satisfying than
-programming.</p>
+rich; a typical income is plenty of incentive to do many jobs that are
+less satisfying than programming.</p>
 
 <p>
 For years, until a fellowship made it unnecessary, I made a living
@@ -275,25 +274,22 @@
 
 <p>
 Some free software developers make money by selling support services.
-Cygnus Support, with around 50 employees [when this article was
-written], estimates that about 15 per cent of its staff activity is
-free software development&mdash;a respectable percentage for a
-software company.</p>
-
-<p>
-Companies including Intel, Motorola, Texas Instruments and Analog
-Devices have combined to fund the continued development of the free
-GNU compiler for the language C.  Meanwhile, the GNU compiler for the
-Ada language is being funded by the US Air Force, which believes this
-is the most cost-effective way to get a high quality compiler.
-[Air Force funding ended some time ago; the GNU Ada Compiler
-is now in service, and its maintenance is funded commercially.]</p>
-
-<p>
-All these examples are small; the free software movement is still
-small, and still young.  But the example of listener-supported radio
-in this country [the US] shows it's possible to support a large
-activity without forcing each user to pay.</p>
+In 1994, Cygnus Support, with around 50 employees, estimated that
+about 15 per cent of its staff activity was free software
+development&mdash;a respectable percentage for a software company.</p>
+
+<p>
+In the early 90s, companies including Intel, Motorola, Texas
+Instruments and Analog Devices combined to fund the continued
+development of the GNU C compiler.  Most GCC development is still done
+by paid developers.  The GNU compiler for the Ada language was funded
+in the 90s by the US Air Force, and continued since then by a company
+formed specifically for the purpose.</p>
+
+<p>
+The free software movement is still small, but the example of
+listener-supported radio in the US shows it's possible to support a
+large activity without forcing each user to pay.</p>
 
 <p>
 As a computer user today, you may find yourself using a
@@ -302,7 +298,7 @@
 refuse.  Cooperation is more important than copyright.  But
 underground, closet cooperation does not make for a good society.  A
 person should aspire to live an upright life openly with pride, and
-this means saying &ldquo;No&rdquo; to proprietary software.</p>
+this means saying no to proprietary software.</p>
 
 <p>
 You deserve to be able to cooperate openly and freely with other
@@ -349,7 +345,7 @@
 </p>
 
 <p>
-Copyright &copy; 1994 Richard Stallman
+Copyright &copy; 1994, 2008 Richard Stallman
 <br />
 Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
 permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is 
@@ -359,7 +355,7 @@
 <p>
 Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2009/09/05 21:35:10 $
+$Date: 2009/10/18 02:54:07 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>