TechnoZone | Computer | Internet

Although is free, it was licensed freeware software has a long history. The emergence of the Free Software licenses can not be separated from the hacker culture that flourished in some university's computer science laboratory in the United States (Stanford, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT) in the 1960s to the 1970s. The staff of the computer / hacker who worked in the laboratory has a voluntary ethics (free) gave results of his work, whether in the form of new software and improvements (updates / patches). this is because the software developed by a hacker is a result of work of other hackers.

In addition diats factor, the law governing the patenting of software as well not exist. The reason used by the PTO (The United States Patent and Trademark Office)-institutions that deal with patents in the United States-is because these institutions believe that computer software is like a row of mathematical expression and not the kind of process / new method, a revolutionary machine , object / component manufacturing unique, and not the composition of a substance that is plural and legitimate to patented.

Then in the 1980s, a case involving a patent on a software finally come to the surface. Diamond v. Diehr name of the case. In this case, the prosecutor wants the inclusion of computer application skills / included into the method for timing-controlled heating process can be patented rubber latex. PTO initially refused on the grounds above. But finally, at the strong insistence that come from U.S. Supreme Court-High Court of the United States-and many other considerations, then patent the PTO is also a new method in which there is a computer application as the core of the process.

Since the patented method by the PTO, patent software in the industry in the United States is increasing. As a result, inevitably, the hacker who previously used to the freedom in the use of software is also affected. Many of these hackers are then invited to sign non-disclosure aggreement. An agreement which of course forbids the user software to do things that previously had a culture, such as free copy binaries (files ending in *. exe) of a program, view and fix the source code, or use it on computers other people or institutions who are not property (property) the owner of the software.

Labotatorium AI MIT, a place where Richard M. Stallman worked, was also affected by this software patent trends. Many colleagues are also hackers Stallman later founded the company based on software that previously they had developed. Preceded by a hacker senior, Richard Greenblatt who founded LMI (Lisp Machine, Inc.), and David Moon and his friends who tried their luck with Symbolics. The establishment of two companies, of course, threaten the hacker culture that had been built at the MIT AI Lab.

In 1984, Stallman decided to leave the MIT AI Lab. The release of this Stallman, other than due to the above problem, most likely also due to his frustration on Xerox laser printers that have problems with its driver. Once out of MIT, Stallman then began to pioneer the development of the GNU project. An ambitious project that will become the embryo of the founding of the FSF (Free Software Foundation) with its GPL license. Once GNU is written, everyone will from be Able to obtain good system software free, just like water.