The GPL (Gnu Public License)

• GPL = GNU Public License
• GNU = "GNU is not UNIX". an akronym which contains itself :)
• GPL/GNU is what many people mix up with Linux.
• GPL/GNU is the reason, why SUN was so successful with their UNIX.
• GPL/GNU is the reson, why Linux is so successful.
• GPL is a Licensing Scheme.
• GNU-Software may be used for free, even for commercial purposes.
• GPL-Software is always available as sourcecode.
• A Licence once under the GPL, can not be revoked.
  
  
• The list of professional, first class, overwhelming Software includes hundreds of Products.
• This is a short overview of the most popular Highlights:
  • Linux (The UNIX-Kernel for 80x86)
    more severe: What most people thik is Linux, that is actually 99% GNU-Software.
  • Apache (The doubtless worldwide best Webserver.)
  • Bind (The best DNS Server.)
  • gcc (Super Cross-Compiler)
  • Mozilla (GPL-Version of Netscape) (Is now the BASE of Netscape)
  • Perl (very popular, heterogenous Scripting-Language)
  • Sendmail (The worldwide best (only?) Mail-Server)
  • Samba (The better, performanter SMB-Server)
  • StarOffice (A slow Office-Packet v. Sun Microsystems,
    nevertheless, it winns the price-contest against Office)
  • Squid (The Proxy-Server)
  • CVS (The Sourcecodemanagement System)
  • mysql (The Lightweight sql-Database without Transaction-support.
    Perfekt for Webservers, because selects work much faster, then with transaction-oriented databases.
    mysql is the currently most used SQL-DB in the GPL-World.
    
  • PHP (Extrem popular and powerful Skripting for Webserver)
  
  
• These products are usually better, faster, more stable, then comparable commercial products.
• The have a wordwide developer community.
• Serious bugs are usually fixed over night. (Commercials only reach this exceptionally.)
• No producer can stop his own product. This means:
• In contrast to commercials, these products can only die, when no one uses them any more.
• They can not die, because a producer doesn't want to support it anymore, or sells it's ownership.
• Because of those reasons: GPL outplays any commercial Licensing scheme.
• Because of those reasons: GPL-Software is the OS of the future.
• Warning: Many of those products are somehow complex.
• Short: "Click and 3 x Return, Intallation done" won't work.