Trying to understand Linux better

[Aniketos]

New to Linux, this site and happy to be a part of all this.

I'm starting school in Oct for Electronics Engineering and currently work in the wireless field with Verizon. I'm trying to get a jump start and learn Linux since I'm told most of our equipment is based on it.

I'm currently reading the Linux for Dummies book. I had some questions.

So Linux is Open-Source: Which means; I can take a product someone already created and change it? Make it better? Even sell it?
Even in Linux there is software that is closed source but the means to create it is free? Which would mean something that someone created can't be dup'ed or changed? They can change for it?

What makes some of the linux distributors able to charge? What makes them different than a free one? Is it the added programs it uses to control the operating system or your hardware and are those softwares proprietary or copyright protected?

Sorry for the newbe questions but Linux makes you have to look at things different than what most of us were grown to think.

[yancek]

Take a look at the sites below for some detailed information.

Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)
GNU General Public License Versions | Open Source Initiative

[Rubberman]

So Linux is Open-Source: Which means; I can take a product someone already created and change it? Make it better? Even sell it?
Even in Linux there is software that is closed source but the means to create it is free? Which would mean something that someone created can't be dup'ed or changed? They can change for it?

1. You can get the source code and change it to suite yourself. Make it better, lighter, faster as you please.
2. You can sell it (or charge for support) but you will have to make the source code available, or not, depending upon the license of the original program (GPLv2, GPLv3, LGPL, Apache, etc).
3. The tools that you use to create Linux programs such as gcc, and use of the libraries to link and create executables, won't affect how you license your program. However, if you change any of the libraries that you are using, then you will have to consider the licenses they are bound with. You may have to provide the source for the changes to those libraries, but not your own source code. Again, that depends upon the licenses that those components use. Yes, you can charge for your programs, and if you only link to Linux libraries then you most likely do not have to make your source code available. Just because you use open source tools to build your applications, doesn't mean you have to open source it yourself.

What makes some of the linux distributors able to charge? What makes them different than a free one? Is it the added programs it uses to control the operating system or your hardware and are those softwares proprietary or copyright protected?

None of the Linux distributions charge for the distribution itself. However, they do charge support fees that you have to pay if you want to get any updates from their repositories. That said, they still provide the code for the updates somewhere available online, so you can update your distribution - it is just not as simple and easy to do. Also, most commercial distributions such as Red Hat have free versions or clone versions. Example (Red Hat again):

1. Red Hat supports Fedora, which is fully free, but only community supported.
2. CentOS and Scientific Linux (SL) are well-known Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) clones that closely track RHEL itself, and are built from the same sources and packages, only changing copyrighted things such as logos and proprietary graphics. Functionally, they are identical to commercial RHEL, but are fully free and you don't need a support license to access their repositories. Both CentOS and SL are widely used in many commercial and scientific sites and applications. CentOS is community maintained and supported. SL is maintained and supported by Fermi National Laboratory in Illinois - one of the premier physics research labs in the world. SL maintenance is primarily funded by the US Department of Energy and a world-wide consortium of universities and physics research labs, including CERN.

Finally, some Linux distributions such as Oracle Linux and Android including proprietary components that are closed-source. If you want to use those components, you will have to license them, if the developers are willing. However, the OS itself should still work without those proprietary bits, if not as well.

[hazel]

What makes some of the linux distributors able to charge? What makes them different than a free one? Is it the added programs it uses to control the operating system or your hardware and are those softwares proprietary or copyright protected?

When it comes to charging or not charging, the rules are those of good ole Adam Smith capitalism. You can charge your customers what you like, but in practice you have to add some value such as better software, an easier installer or installation discs by post. Otherwise they aren't going to pay for what they could get free elsewhere.

And if you charge more than your customers think the added value is worth, some disgruntled customer can legally put your distro up on his website to be downloaded for less or for free, and you won't be able to do a thing to stop him.