ITPEC IP October 2019 Question 76
Which of the following is an explanation of free software?
Explanation
Provided free of charge, and may be modified, copied and distributed under its licence — that is free software as the question describes it.
Software stays copyrighted however it is distributed; what users may do with it is set by its licence. Free software comes without charge, and its licence grants the freedoms that commercial software withholds: to change it, to copy it and to pass it on to others. Open-source licences such as the GPL add the source code needed to make changes.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) — allowing installation on any number of computers at a fixed location is a site licence, a form of volume licensing for commercial software
- •(b) — free use for a trial period, then payment to keep using it, is shareware
- •(c) — software sold commercially with permission to install it on one or more computers is package software under its usage licence
Key rule: Tell software apart by its licence terms: a trial then payment is shareware, many installations at one site is a site licence, and free use with the right to modify and redistribute is free software; the author keeps the copyright in every case.
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