this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2025
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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It's disgusting how many businesses have been herded into wasting money on products they can be using for free, then convincing customers they "need more money."
Probably better to think of spending their money on an open ecosystem, instead of just using something for "free". If software products have sufficient funding they can better improve the products and can continue to exist - without some form of monetisation most wouldn't still be around.
I believe it's a chicken and an egg problem.
If free software projects had more users, those users would improve the software further with donations, patches, and bug reports.
I think both can be true. I just mean if we're talking about a company paying for Microsoft Office vs LibreOffice.