free software movement (redirected from Free software philosophy)

The initiative endorsed by the Free Software Foundation that promotes freedom for computer users and considers proprietary software unethical. It holds that all software users are morally entitled to the freedoms granted by "free" software, which is often free of charge, but mostly free of restrictions (see free software). The first and main achievement of the free software movement was the GNU operating system. However, due to restrictions with application programs and embedded codes in hardware, the goal has yet to be fully realized. See free software, GNU, Free Software Foundation and GNU/Linux.