https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Freeware
Please don’t use the term “freeware” as a synonym for “free software.” The term “freeware” was used often in the 1980s for programs released only as executables, with source code not available. Today it has no particular agreed-on definition.
There is a misunderstanding that the free in free software or FOSS refers to price (and is hence a synonym of freeware). https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/floss-and-foss.html
Others use the term “FOSS,” which stands for “Free and Open Source Software.” This is meant to mean the same thing as “FLOSS,” but it is less clear, since it fails to explain that “free” refers to freedom.
As an ‘80s kid, I got freeware that was free from services that also offered try-and-buy software. Specifically labeled as freeware. As usual, there may be a definition that was agreed upon in the circles the author moved in, but on the consumer/DOS side there absolutely was “freeware” = free of charge.
FOSS is always Freeware, but Freeware isn’t always FOSS. Freeware don’t mean other thing that the soft is free to use, nothing more.
FOSS is always Freeware
“Free software” refers to freedom, not price. It’s possible for free-as-in-freedom software to be sold.
“Freeware” is always about price, not freedom.
only in theory. in reality, only one person would ever buy it then re-release the source code for free-as-in-beer. unless you’re talking about something other than GPL2/3.
People buy copies of proprietary software and then share them for free.
There’s some non-freeware FOSS projects, especially in pursuit of some support. While the better ones either have an easy to use build system and/or just negwares if you download their “trial” version, projects like Ardour is a lot more involved. It has actual noise injected into the sound output, it has a convoluted build system (for which they don’t provide build manuals - after forking, you’ll find out it will also need a specific version of VS to build), and on top of that, an expensive subscription model.
Non freeware FOSS don’t exist, FOSS - Free Open Source Soft, is always free, but there are non freeware OpenSource apps, like eg. Proton VPN, which is OpenSource but not Freeware, only Freemium (server cost money), or also Filen, it’s also only Freemium OpenSource, if you need more than 10GB storage, you have to pay for it. There are also paid OpenSource apps without free version.
I think y’all who are upset over the use of “freeware” are out of touch with how language is used in non-expert settings. Like, I’m definitely more tech-savvy than most people and I still didn’t know about “FOSS” as a term until seeing it on Lemmy and looking it up. This just means “free software” to me and doesn’t imply anything negative.
It even says, “the premier free and open source image editing software for multiple platforms” right in the first paragraph, so what’s the issue? Do you think the headline will mislead someone into thinking that GIMP is proprietary?
I don’t think the issue is that it implies something negative, it’s that it does a poor job of conveying the nature of open-source, ie free as in free speech, not free as in free beer.
Freeware = Free software
Technically true.
I’ve read the first part and it’s all “most often”, “may be”, so, technically, FOSS software is under the freeware umbrella.
Makes sense. In my mind when I think freeware tho I think discord, Spotify, free to use apps that have subscriptions and are proprietary. So I don’t like that GIMP is labeled with those
It doesn’t even have to be something with subscriptions. Hardware drivers are (usually) freeware too for example. AMD is an unusual exception to that being open source. Then you have IK Multimedia who include a license key for their drivers and charge $50 to transfer it, and won’t even let the new owner of a product pay that if they bought it second-hand. Ask me how I know.
Yes, but the average person doesn’t give a shit about the technical definition. You know what is meant, don’t be pedantic about it.
Define average person.
Go outside and talk to several random people. That’s the average person.
Lol. How to explain without explaining 101.
Being average does not mean that there is no room to explain stuff…
pisses me off that they call it an image editor
yea, when it really is a batch-pixel-value-changer !
I mean they call it out in the article that it’s free and open source. Hey it might get someone looking for freeware to get gimp instead.
Mayhaps or most like other tech “journalist” he prolly has no idea what the difference is
