https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Freeware
Please don’t use the term “freeware” as a synonym for “free software.” The term “freeware” was used often in the 1980s for programs released only as executables, with source code not available. Today it has no particular agreed-on definition.
There is a misunderstanding that the free in free software or FOSS refers to price (and is hence a synonym of freeware). https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/floss-and-foss.html
Others use the term “FOSS,” which stands for “Free and Open Source Software.” This is meant to mean the same thing as “FLOSS,” but it is less clear, since it fails to explain that “free” refers to freedom.
I mean they call it out in the article that it’s free and open source. Hey it might get someone looking for freeware to get gimp instead.
Mayhaps or most like other tech “journalist” he prolly has no idea what the difference is
I think y’all who are upset over the use of “freeware” are out of touch with how language is used in non-expert settings. Like, I’m definitely more tech-savvy than most people and I still didn’t know about “FOSS” as a term until seeing it on Lemmy and looking it up. This just means “free software” to me and doesn’t imply anything negative.
It even says, “the premier free and open source image editing software for multiple platforms” right in the first paragraph, so what’s the issue? Do you think the headline will mislead someone into thinking that GIMP is proprietary?
pisses me off that they call it an image editor
yea, when it really is a batch-pixel-value-changer !
Freeware = Free software
Technically true.
I’ve read the first part and it’s all “most often”, “may be”, so, technically, FOSS software is under the freeware umbrella.
Makes sense. In my mind when I think freeware tho I think discord, Spotify, free to use apps that have subscriptions and are proprietary. So I don’t like that GIMP is labeled with those
Yes, but the average person doesn’t give a shit about the technical definition. You know what is meant, don’t be pedantic about it.
I’d hope that Tom’s Hardware is written by someone more knowledgeable than “the average person”.
Otherwise it’s as good as dead.
FOSS is always Freeware, but Freeware isn’t always FOSS. Freeware don’t mean other thing that the soft is free to use, nothing more.
FOSS is always Freeware
“Free software” refers to freedom, not price. It’s possible for free-as-in-freedom software to be sold.
“Freeware” is always about price, not freedom.
