Deep Pandya's Blog

Life before the Invention of Electronics

Earlier we used to do all of our work using physical tools - notebook, diaries, wall calenders, registers, compass, scales, graphs, papers, boards etc. During that era we had the freedom to make, modify and use those tools as per our needs and we could also control how the they served us.

Inventions

In the 19th century when the typewriter was invented, some companies began manufacturing and supplying it to industries and people. They might have produced good quality products, but a bad thought entered their minds - what if we control the market by restricting others from modifying or improving our design? They started imposing licenses and patents to take away the user's freedom. Owing a typewriter indeed enhance your ability to do work more conveniently and more efficiently but when it comes to repair or modification, you're suddenly dependent on the manufacturer. Many actions were restricted by those licenses and patents.

You rarely realize the value of freedom until it’s gone! Imagine if the manufacturer had shared its design openly and allowed everyone to study, modify, improve and share it without any restrictions? But they didn't because they want to retain its control in such a way that it favours their sole benefits!

When one thinks only of self-benefits at the cost of humanity, ethics starts vanishing. Similar practice were seen with other tools like Printing Press, Telegraph, etc.

Computers & Digital Life

By the 1970s, "personal" computers are introduced in the world and very soon companies with the mentioned mindset came with the strategy of capturing the market. Some companies started focusing on development of software that runs the computers. It is the set of instruction that tells the computer what to do. Many software have been developed to perform specific tasks. Software started to become more and more complex and so the software industry grew rapidly. When you buy a computer, you need a software to make it useful - and that's where the traps begin! Software companies smartly identified the opportunity - they could attract users with convenience and features, then make them dependent on their products without even noticing it. They designed software that first attracts and then traps — until the user becomes habituated to it. To use such software, you must first accept a “license agreement.” Most people accept it blindly, without realizing that these agreements restrict copying, sharing, and even studying how the software works. In this way, software becomes an instrument for companies to control users and earn profit at the cost of ethics.

Today we rely on our computers and smartphones for most of our work, in other words, our life has been tied tightly with digital world. On our computers and smartphones we use different applications/software to do specific tasks but have we ever tried to read the license terms and agreement that we accept? Most users would say "No" because they think I am simply clicking on one "Accept" button to use the software without paying anything! (Sometimes even with paying for subscription or license charge for specific products!) then why should I bother more?

But it’s worth bothering. Because those licenses define who controls your device — you or the company.
Continue reading.........

Ethics (Philosophy)

There are generally two strategies of making money by a company who is shipping this kind of software:

1. Software that are available to download, install and use at free of charge (gratis)
2. Software that requires paid activation or subscription to use (non-gratis)

Most of the applications we are using on our smartphones/devices belong to first kind. They look very attractive and cost nothing!. So, how do company make money? Rarely ethically! Yes, these software makes "you" their product and do malicious activities like:

• Spying — collecting your habits, location, and private data to sell or manipulate your behaviour.
• Trapping — locking your data and friends inside their platform so you can’t leave easily.
• Addicting — designing endless notifications and feeds to keep your attention for profit.
• Discarding — forcing you to buy new devices when the old ones are still perfectly fine.
• Deceiving & Misleading — hiding the real code so you never know what it’s doing behind the screen.
• Endangering — leaving backdoors or bugs that they alone can fix, while you remain powerless.
• Isolating — refusing to work with other systems, so your freedom quietly disappears.

Many software (including the operating system) that we are using on our PCs are of second kind which feels premium or professional but they restrict you to use it for limited purpose and bind you not to share with others making you helpless, divided from others and making you trapped in their subscription loop, besides engaging in all unethical activities mentioned above.

Thus, only when we discover these restrictions we realize that I am ultimately being controlled by software companies and I need a freedom to escape, to be independent and to control my own digital life! So, freedom is sometimes realized only when it has been stolen!

Who Fight for the Ethics!

Computer scientist Mr. Richard Matthew Stallman experienced such restrictions in late 1970s and early 1980s. As a research scientist at MIT AI Lab, he once improved the functionality of the printer which allowed him to modify the source code but later on when new printer arrived, its manufacturer refused to share its source code. So, his ability to study, fix, and improve the software was suddenly taken away. He was even asked to sign an NDA (a legal document forbidding him for sharing) for getting copy of some program. That's when he realized something deeper: Software freedom was disappearing and corporates are moving towards antisocial and unethical development of the software.

In the response, he quit the job and began what we now call the "Free Software Movement", where the word "Free" means the "Freedom" not the "Price". He thought that as a programmer he can initiate the free culture which everyone can join, build and live independently. He launched "GNU" Operating System in 1984 and in 1985, he founded the Free Software Foundation to promote and support the movement.

He defined the "Free Software" through four essential freedoms:

1. The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose
2. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish
3. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others
4. The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others

Roughly speaking, the software which provides its users the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software is called "Free Software". If you have all these freedom, you can control your computing (computer, smartphone etc.) otherwise someone else (software developers or companies) control its users (you) and devices (your computer / smartphone) by means of the non-free software.

Analogical Explanation

Some apologies are given below for better understanding and imagination:

• Think of proprietary software as proprietary food — served to you with a hidden or secret recipe. You can enjoy it, but if you ever want to customize it to your taste, you are not allowed to — or you must depend on the chef. There’s also a risk of unhygienic food because you can’t inspect the kitchen or the recipe. The malicious activities of proprietary software developers can be compared to a slow poison secretly mixed into your meal! Now, if you were given full freedom and the recipe itself, you could check and modify the food according to your taste, nutrition, and hygiene needs. That is exactly what Libre Software provides in the digital world!


• Think of proprietary software as a proprietary water treatment plant or coffee roaster machine — its design is fixed for a particular source or raw material. You cannot inspect or modify it for other uses, nor can you alter its units as per your convenience. But if the plant or roaster were provided to you with its complete design and full freedom, you could study, modify, and use it without any legal restrictions — just as you can with Free Software.


• Think of proprietary software as a monarchy — where you must obey the king’s rules regardless of whether they are moral or fair. Such kingdoms often hide public matters and decisions for the king’s own benefit, keeping citizens in the dark about what truly happens behind palace doors. Similarly, proprietary software hides its inner workings and serves the developer’s interest first. By contrast, Free Software is like a democracy. Here, everything is transparent and accountable — you can see how things work, question them, and even participate in improving them. You can join an existing development team with full openness, or you can adopt the software and build your own independent community — much like forming your own democratic government under a shared and transparent constitution.

Take Action!

Today we have more than enough free/libre software to replace the proprietary/non-free software and it's the time for individuals, communities, companies, states, nations - and the world - to liberate our digital life by using only Free Software. Visit Freedom Ladder campaign by FSF for the help.