We won't charge you anything to help you get started. As an example, one of the operating systems we'll be able to assist you with at Free Your Machine is Linux. Linux is free software , or what some enthusiasts call freeware, and it's protected under something called the GNU Public License. The GNU Public License explicitly allows you to give copies of Linux away, without the receiver having to pay for it. When a new release comes out, you won't have to shell out more money for it because some large company decides to put on an expensive marketing campaign.
Free software tends to appeal to people who think for themselves.
There are many answers, here are just a few. You don't get a compiler, a debugger, a serious editor, or a very powerful communications package. As indicated above, you don't have to go out and purchase a compiler and debugger. Many students have reported that using a free UNIX on their own machine allowed them to achieve higher grades in their classes, spending less time on each required task than their colleagues, which translated into more time to spend studying other subjects or on leisure. If you live in the Cal Poly residence halls, we'll make a special effort to make sure that you can maximize the networking capabilities available to you, and that your machine is secure and complies with Network Administration's regulations .