Why Free Software Is More Important Now Than Ever Before

[J65nko]

From an article in Wired by Richard Stallman:

It is now 30 years since I launched the campaign for freedom in computing, that is, for software to be free or “libre” (we use that word to emphasize that we’re talking about freedom, not price). Some proprietary programs, such as Photoshop, are very expensive; others, such as Flash Player, are available gratis — either way, they subject their users to someone else’s power.

[snip]

...while non-free software and SaaSS are controlled by some other entity (typically a corporation or a state), free software is controlled by its users.

[thirdm]

I've always thought his four freedoms would be easier to remember if he combined the third and fourth (#2 and #3) into a single freedom to distribute copies, modified or not. But then it wouldn't be the four freedoms. So he wanted there to be four in tribute to, or to parallel, Roosevelt's four?