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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/gnu-history.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/gnu-history.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..afa4734 --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/gnu-history.html @@ -0,0 +1,183 @@ +<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.84 --> +<title>Overview of the GNU System +- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> +<meta name="Keywords" content="GNU, GNU Project, FSF, Free Software, Free Software Foundation, History" /> +<!--#include virtual="/gnu/po/gnu-history.translist" --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<h2>Overview of the GNU System</h2> + +<p> +The GNU operating system is a complete free software system, +upward-compatible with Unix. GNU stands for “GNU's Not Unix”. +It is pronounced as <a href="/gnu/pronunciation.html">one syllable with a +hard g</a>. +<a href="http://www.stallman.org/">Richard Stallman</a> made the +<a href="/gnu/initial-announcement.html">Initial Announcement</a> of +the GNU Project in September 1983. A longer version called +the <a href="/gnu/manifesto.html">GNU Manifesto</a> was published in +March 1985. It has been translated into several +<a href="/gnu/manifesto.html#translations">other languages</a>.</p> + +<p> +The name “GNU” was chosen because it met a few +requirements; first, it was a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not +Unix”, second, because it was a real word, and third, it was fun +to say (or +<a href="http://www.poppyfields.net/poppy/songs/gnu.html">Sing</a>).</p> + +<p> +The word “free” in “free software” pertains to +<a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">freedom</a>, not price. You may or +may not pay a price to get GNU software. Either way, once you have +the software you have four specific freedoms in using it. The freedom +to run the program as you wish; the freedom to copy the program and +give it away to your friends and co-workers; the freedom to change the +program as you wish, by having full access to source code; the freedom +to distribute an improved version and thus help build the community. +(If you redistribute GNU software, you may charge a fee for the +physical act of transferring a copy, or you may give away copies.)</p> + +<p> +The project to develop the GNU system is called the “GNU +Project”. The GNU Project was conceived in 1983 as a way of +bringing back the cooperative spirit that prevailed in the computing +community in earlier days—to make cooperation possible once again by +removing the obstacles to cooperation imposed by the owners of +proprietary software.</p> + +<p> +In 1971, when Richard Stallman started his career at MIT, he worked in +a group which used <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">free +software</a> exclusively. Even computer companies often distributed +free software. Programmers were free to cooperate with each other, +and often did.</p> + +<p> +By the 1980s, almost all software was +<a href="/philosophy/categories.html#ProprietarySoftware">proprietary</a>, +which means that it had owners who forbid and +prevent cooperation by users. This made the GNU Project necessary.</p> + +<p> +Every computer user needs an operating system; if there is no free +operating system, then you can't even get started using a computer +without resorting to proprietary software. So the first item on the +free software agenda obviously had to be a free operating system.</p> + +<p> +We decided to make the operating system compatible with Unix because +the overall design was already proven and portable, and because +compatibility makes it easy for Unix users to switch from Unix to GNU.</p> + +<p> +A Unix-like operating system includes a kernel, compilers, editors, +text formatters, mail software, graphical interfaces, libraries, games +and many other things. Thus, writing a whole operating system is a +very large job. We started in January 1984. +The <a href="http://fsf.org/"> Free Software Foundation</a> was +founded in October 1985, initially to raise funds to help develop +GNU.</p> + +<p>By 1990 we had either found or written all the major components +except one—the kernel. Then Linux, a Unix-like kernel, was +developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and made free software in 1992. +Combining Linux with the almost-complete GNU system resulted in a +complete operating system: the GNU/Linux system. Estimates are that +tens of millions of people now use GNU/Linux systems, typically +via <a href="/distros/distros.html">GNU/Linux distributions</a>. The principal +version of Linux now contains non-free firmware “blobs”; +free software activists now maintain a modified free version of Linux, +called <a href="http://directory.fsf.org/project/linux"> +Linux-libre</a>.</p> + +<p> +However, the GNU Project is not limited to the core operating system. +We aim to provide a whole spectrum of software, whatever many users +want to have. This includes application software. See +the <a href="/directory">Free Software Directory</a> for a catalogue +of free software application programs.</p> + +<p> +We also want to provide software for users who are not computer +experts. Therefore we developed a +<a href="http://www.gnome.org/">graphical desktop (called GNOME)</a> to help +beginners use the GNU system.</p> + +<p>We also want to provide games and other recreations. Plenty of <a +href="http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Category/Game">free games</a> are +already available.</p> + +<p> +How far can free software go? There are no limits, except +when <a href="/philosophy/fighting-software-patents.html">laws such as +the patent system prohibit free software</a>. The ultimate goal is to +provide free software to do all of the jobs computer users want to +do—and thus make proprietary software a thing of the past.</p> + + +</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> +<div id="footer"> +<div class="unprintable"> + +<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to +<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. +There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> +the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent +to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, + replace it with the translation of these two: + + We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality + translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. + Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard + to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> + <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> + + <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + our web pages, see <a + href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations + README</a>. --> +Please see the <a +href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations +README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations +of this article.</p> +</div> + +<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to + files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should + be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this + without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. + Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the + document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the + document was modified, or published. + + If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. + Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying + years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable + year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including + being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). + + There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers + Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> + +<p>Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, +2009, 2012, 2014, 2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p> + +<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" +href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative +Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p> + +<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> + +<p class="unprintable">Updated: +<!-- timestamp start --> +$Date: 2017/09/04 10:21:27 $ +<!-- timestamp end --> +</p> +</div> +</div> +</body> +</html> |