Free software
In the 1970s Stallman was bothered that companies had stopped sharing code. He founded the GNU Project with the aim of creating a completely free system. The GPL licence guarantees that even a modified version must remain open. The missing kernel was supplied by Linux.
Well-known projects
- Linux and most server software.
- Firefox, VLC (created at a Paris university), LibreOffice, Blender.
- Python, Git, Docker, Kubernetes.
- Home Assistant, Jellyfin, Immich for home servers.
Why companies give code away for free
Developing together is cheaper than everyone doing it alone. Companies make money on support, cloud services or paid add-ons. Git, written by Linus Torvalds, and GitHub (owned by Microsoft since 2018) made it possible for millions of developers to collaborate.