DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

a noob question

4 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/a-noob-question.160495/

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deepak8286 Original post #1
Jul 23, 2012 at 5:12 AM
friends i m really new to this openware...here i have few questions...please answer them patiently....

1.What is the difference between openware and freeware?

2.Say i want to distribute 1000 laptops freely to poor people. which OS would i prefer linux or windows. obviously i would prefer linux since its free of cost, to minimise my expenditure.
The purpose of laptop would be to browse internet, read documents, communication purposes. Which linux would suit this need?
cooljeba
Jul 23, 2012 at 6:39 AM
That's nice you are distributing laptops.. There is a big difference between open source and freeware... Only similarity is both are free to use..
But with oss you also get the source code for free.. This means you can modify the software to better suit your needs. Also you can release the software under new name make the source code available with credit to original author.
There are many distro available for Linux and most popular being ubuntu.. There are few Linux distros which look and feel like windows.. You can install them for formality..
I think for educational purposes and charity Microsoft does give free license keys.. You can explore that option too..
But I would personally prefer you distrbute ubuntu.. All the best :good:
skeletor
Jul 23, 2012 at 7:46 AM
1.What is the difference between openware and freeware?
You've got the source code available for Open Source. You know what's happening behind the scenes.

The purpose of laptop would be to browse internet, read documents, communication purposes. Which linux would suit this need?
yes and a lot more than that. Lot of people here strictly use Linux as their OS and they do everything with it.

Ubuntu 12.04 or Linux Mint 13 MATE.
W
Jul 23, 2012 at 4:03 PM
well...you put it absolutely right. hope he found the answer.