The Free Desk / Browse
Everything on the desk
Five sections, 16 pieces. Explanations, not reviews — and no download links anywhere on this site.
Static index
Every piece is listed here in plain HTML, whatever your browser does with the rest.
The five sections
Pick a shelf
Section 01
Free & Open Source
What the words mean and who pays.
Section 02
Everyday Tools
Judging software and knowing the categories.
Section 03
Security & Privacy
What a program asks for, and what it does with it.
Section 04
Mobile
The same questions, on a phone.
Section 05
How Software Gets Made
The machinery behind the download button.
All 16 pieces
Grouped by section
Free & Open Source
- EXPLAINERWhat “Free” Actually Means in Free SoftwareFree as in price and free as in permission overlap often enough to confuse. The licence settles it.
- REFERENCEThe Licences, Told ApartFive licences, and the two cells in the table most arguments are really about.
- ESSAYWhat Open Source Changes About TrustBeing able to read the source is not the same as anyone having read it.
- EXPLAINERWho Pays for Software Nobody SellsFoundations, sponsors, dual licensing and the maintainer working evenings.
- REFERENCEReading a Licence Without a Law DegreeWhere to look first, and the three questions that answer most of it.
Everyday Tools
- GUIDEHow to Judge a Program Before You Install ItA checklist you can actually run in five minutes.
- REFERENCEThe Categories Worth KnowingBrowser, office, media, security, creative — what each is for and what to look for.
- ESSAYFree Versus Paid, Argued Both WaysThe honest trade, with the case for paying made properly.
- ESSAYWhen a Project Goes QuietHow to tell a finished tool from an abandoned one.
Security & Privacy
Mobile