Free software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed with few restrictions.
Questions tagged [free-software]
64 questions
22
votes
5 answers
“free-as-in-speech” vs. "free-as-in-beer”
What is the difference between "free-as-in-speech" and "free-as-in-beer"?
Renjith G
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22
votes
5 answers
Text annotations and image additions to PDF file using free software
I'm mostly interested in annotating a PDF file with text at a predetermined position. GUIs and command line utilities are both Ok, but only free software solutions, please. However, I included image additions for completeness.
To be clear, the…
Faheem Mitha
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17
votes
2 answers
The UEFI & SecureBoot impact, how severe?
I'm planning to buy a new laptop in the coming days, and I'm quite impressed with new, cool Ultrabooks. As a long-time GNU/Linux user, I'll of course install a distro of my choice on it.
Chances are I'll have to buy a computer with Windows 8…
user27225
17
votes
4 answers
Ideal Hardware for GNU/Linux Laptop
What's the best way to find a laptop with hardware that is amenable to installing and running GNU/Linux? I'm looking for something that will ideally work with GPL'd drivers and/or firmware.
I took a quick look at linux-on-laptops.com, but they don't…
andrew-e
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11
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5 answers
Why isn't Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop free?
Why isn't Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop free?
Isn't it a Linux OS? If it is, so why is not free?
http://www.redhat.com/products/enterprise-linux/desktop/
MSajjadi
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11
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4 answers
What makes Ubuntu not totally Free Software?
I heard that Ubuntu is not completely free (as in Freedom). What are the specific parts of Ubuntu that are not Free?
hpy
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9
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3 answers
How to create indexes in a pdf?
iPdf is rotten.
Is there any other software or any other way by which an "index" can be created in a pdf file?
Aquarius_Girl
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9
votes
6 answers
Movie Player requires additional plugins to decode this file
I'm using RHEL 6 . I'm unable to play the video using Movie Player. It shows an error, Movie Player requires additional plugins to decode this file.
The following plugins are required : MPEG-4-AAC decoder and H.264 decoder. But RHEL asking for a…
Sabapathy
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8
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7 answers
Secure FOSS alternative to Skype on Linux & OpenBSD?
Criteria:
Makes audio/video calls
Encrypts the whole traffic (using good encryption)
Is cross-platform (including Windows 7, etc.)
Runs on modern Linux distributions (Fedora, Ubuntu, etc.)
Runs on OpenBSD
Does anybody know a good Free and…
LanceBaynes
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8
votes
2 answers
Is there logitech gaming mouse programming software for any Linux Distro?
I happened upon an unopened Logitech G502 programmable gaming mouse. I would like to program buttons to do things like write commonly used lines in programs (which I know is possible in Windows; my college roommate did it earlier this year). The…
jaredad7
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8
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2 answers
Proprietary or Closed Parts of the Kernel
I've heard of lines of code that are distributed with the Linux Kernel that aren't open. Maybe some drivers or something like that.
I'd like to know how much of that is true? Are there lines of code that are distributed with the Kernel (as when you…
jpmelos
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6
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2 answers
How can I check whether I have installed non-free software?
I'm thinking of a program which would scan packages and report some statistics about them - and report all packages that contain non-free software.
It would of course have to include kernel modules, drivers and other binary blobs that are often…
jcora
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6
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2 answers
A simple hierarchical task list (that lets you cross out tasks) for linux in the Ubuntu repositories?
I just spent way too much time looking for this. Treeline is very close, but it doesn't allow marking a task as done with a single key press. It's a powerful data organizer and one has to change manually defined data types to achieve that.
I'm…
tasks
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6
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1 answer
Is there a file search engine with a webserver?
I connected a huge USB HD to my linux server. I installed samba and the files can now be accessed over network. I can search for files over network but the samba search is slow.
Do you know of any software that can index all the files and I just…
MilMike
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6
votes
3 answers
Efficient todo / project / task manager application
I am looking at a todo / project / task management application for Linux that goes beyond making a simple list of tasks with check boxes.
What I'm looking for is an application that will also allow me to follow up on tasks (for examples task T =…
neydroydrec
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