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The web
www
6.
EXCHANGING INFORMATION ONLINE
The exchange of files and software has become one of the most common online
activities. Every day, people are uploading and downloading more and more
songs, videos, photos, software applications and other files. It can be done
quickly, easily and automatically by using
Peer to Peer (P2P)
programs, such as
Ares and BitTorrent.
Although many users exchange information online, we must be careful about
the files and software that we download, use on our computers or redistribute
to other people. There are
legal restrictions
that apply to many types of digital
content. For example, some types of software are
open source
, which means the
source code is available to the public and can be modified by users. Other types of
software are
closed source
, which means the source code can only be modified
by the progammer.
We can also differentiate between the following types of software:
❚❚
Free software
:
anyone can use, modify, copy and distribute this software. It is
also open source.
❚❚
Proprietary software
: users need special permission or a license to use, modify,
copy or distribute this software.
❚❚
Commercial software
:
the owner distributes and sells this software for a price.
❚❚
Freeware:
this software does not cost anything. It can be copied and distributed,
but it cannot be modified.
❚❚
Public domain software
:
the author makes this software available to everyone
at no cost.
A particular program may belong to more than one group of software. An
open source program may be commercial, and a closed source program may be
freeware, for example. To avoid breaking the law, you should understand the rules
and restrictions for any software that you use.
7.
USER LICENSES
The information and software that we find online may be protected by some form
of
license
. We usually have to pay for commercial content or software, and people
can have legal problems if they try to distribute or use such materials without the
proper license.
In order to avoid problems with the exchange of software,
public licenses
were
created. The most common example is the
General Public License (GPL)
.
These
licenses aim to protect the free distribution, modification and use of software.
As a result, any software under this license is
free software
, which cannot be
owned by anyone. The
Linux
operation system and the
LibreOffice
package are
examples of free, open source software that are GPL protected.
Creative Commons Licenses
allow
us to give people certain rights for
using content that we have created.
You can get a CCL online if you fulfil
the following conditions.
/
licenses/?lang=en
SHAREWARE
Shareware is not a type of
program; it is a form of free
distribution which lets people
try a program at no cost. If
people are satisfied, they can
buy an official license to use
it.
Some shareware programs
are complete versions, but
in other cases they are only
demonstration versions or
demos.This means that some
of the characteristics of the
full version will be missing.
Some shareware programs
may also have an expiry date,
after which they stopworking.
Internet
GNU is a free software operating
system that is GPL protected.
Key concept
❚❚
Depending on the type of
software and licence, we are
allowed to share files online
without breaking the law.
ADVANCE EDITION
