Universal Binary and Open Source?

[EMILinator]

What do these terms mean?

In regards to the program Transmission I might add.

 

[Juan Largo]

Universal binary is an application that will run on older Mac OS as well as the newer Intel-based Macintosh computers. The source code of an open source software (OSS) is available to the public free of charge, so anyone can copy and/or modify it. OSS isn't necessarily free (as in beer), but it is free (as in freedom of speech).

 

[AlyciaAnimation]

Can someone explain this to me. You always hear people say "free as in beer" when talking about free and open source software, but I don't get it. When is beer free? Where did this come from?

 

[Juan Largo]

Can someone explain this to me. You always hear people say "free as in beer" when talking about free and open source software, but I don't get it. When is beer free? Where did this come from?

In the English tongue, the word "free" has two different meanings. The expression, "Free as in beer," comes from an essay written by Richard Stallman. It describes something that is gratis, or given away, versus something that is in the state of freedom.

If you want a better explanation, read this: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?FreeAsInBeer

BTW, you can get free beer at a brewery that offers beer tasting tours. The idea is that after you sample enough free beer, you'll buy a couple of cases.

 

[Aptmunich]

Free as in beer = it doesn't cost money, but might have restrictions on its usage.

Free (not as in beer) software does not only not cost any money, it's also free to be used in a variety of ways that commercial software often isn't.

 

[Juan Largo]

Free (not as in beer) software does not only not cost any money, it's also free to be used in a variety of ways that commercial software often isn't.

Just a slight clarification to the above. Free (as in speech) software is often sold for money, which is permissible as long as the source code is available to anybody. The term Open Source Software (OSS) is a much better description than the term "free" in that context.

People often get confused as to why someone could charge money for OSS when anyone can get the source code for free. An analogy is useful. Nobody "owns" the image of the Eiffel Tower, so if you go to Paris, you're free to take as many pictures of the Eiffel Tower as you want. But right next to the Eiffel Tower are shops that sell post cards of (guess what?) the Eiffel Tower. It's the same way with OSS.

 

[louishen]

Universal binary is an application that will run on older Mac OS as well as the newer Intel-based Macintosh computers. The source code of an open source software (OSS) is available to the public free of charge, so anyone can copy and/or modify it. OSS isn't necessarily free (as in beer), but it is free (as in freedom of speech).

A bit of clarity for the above.

Universal Binary has nothing to do with which OS the program runs on. A universal Binary app is a single application that has been compiled to run on macs with either the older PowerPC processors (G4, G5) and the newer Intel based macs. Simply put it runs on both.

Open Source refers to the source code for a program. Open Source programs release the code to the public domain and invite anybody to suggest and make changes and improvements to the program and allow others to benefit. However, Open Source does not always mean free, Linux is open source but you can still choose to buy versions of Linux.

Applications that can run in Both OS X and the old OS 9 are called Carbon apps

In the !990s, apple switched from the Motorola 68K processors to the Risc based PowerPC. Applications way back then that could run on both of these processor families were called Fat Binaries

 

[Juan Largo]

A bit of clarity for the above.

Universal Binary has nothing to do with which OS the program runs on.

I never said it did. Read my first post.

 

[Aptmunich]

Applications that can run in Both OS X and the old OS 9 are called Carbon apps

A bit of clarification of the above (do I spot a trend? ):

Carbon is a collection of "calls" a programmer can make to the system from an application. Initially "Carbon" was designed to make transitioning apps from OS 9 to OS X easy. It is still being maintained, but in future Apple has indicated developers should start focusing on Cocoa (Carbon will also not be made available in a 64bit compatible version).

But there are plenty of apps that are Carbon based that aren't OS 9 compatible...

iTunes, Finder, Final Cut, Photoshop are all Carbon apps that ditched OS 9 support a looooong time ago.