Description
Free as in Freedom interweaves biographical snapshots of GNU project founder Richard Stallman with the political, social and economic history of the free software movement. It examines Stallman's unique personality and how that personality has been at turns a driving force and a drawback in terms of the movement's overall success.
Full Description
Free as in Freedom interweaves biographical snapshots of GNU project founder Richard Stallman with the political, social and economic history of the free software movement. It examines Stallman's unique personality and how that personality has been at turns a driving force and a drawback in terms of the movement's overall success.
Free as in Freedom examines one man's 20-year attempt to codify and communicate the ethics of 1970s era "hacking" culture in such a way that later generations might easily share and build upon the knowledge of their computing forebears. The book documents Stallman's personal evolution from teenage misfit to prescient adult hacker to political leader and examines how that evolution has shaped the free software movement. Like Alan Greenspan in the financial sector, Richard Stallman has assumed the role of tribal elder within the hacking community, a community that bills itself as anarchic and averse to central leadership or authority. How did this paradox come about? Free as in Freedom provides an answer. It also looks at how the latest twists and turns in the software marketplace have diminished Stallman's leadership role in some areas while augmenting it in others.
Finally, Free as in Freedom examines both Stallman and the free software movement from historical viewpoint. Will future generations see Stallman as a genius or crackpot? The answer to that question depends partly on which side of the free software debate the reader currently stands and partly upon the reader's own outlook for the future. 100 years from now, when terms such as "computer," "operating system" and perhaps even "software" itself seem hopelessly quaint, will Richard Stallman's particular vision of freedom still resonate, or will it have taken its place alongside other utopian concepts on the 'ash-heap of history?'
Colophon
Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The cover of this book was designed and produced in Adobe Photoshop 5.5 and QuarkXPress 4.1 with Interstate and Sabon fonts. The cover photograph of Richard Stallman was taken by Sam Ogden/Photo Researchers Inc. The interior of the book is set in Adobe's Sabon font and was produced in FrameMaker 5.5.6. Sabon was designed by Jan Tschichold in 1964. The roman design is based on Garamond; the italic is based on typefaces created by Robert Granjon, one of Garamond's contemproaries. Sabon is a registered trademark of Linotype-Hell AG and/or its subsidiaries.
Many people contributed to this project, including Tim O'Reilly, Laurie Petrycki, Jeffrey Holcomb, Edie Freedman, Hanna Dyer, Emma Colby, Melanie Wang, David Futato, Sheryl Avruch, Claire Cloutier, Joe Wizda, Rachel Wheeler, and Leanne Soylemez.
