From WIRED.COM
BY RICHARD STALLMAN 09.28.136:30 AM
This article is relevant now and worthy of your time to read (1 page). –john
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.
Much has changed since the beginning of the free software movement: Most people in advanced countries now own computers — sometimes called “phones” — and use the internet with them. Non-free software still makes the users surrender control over their computing to someone else, but now there is another way to lose it: Service as a Software Substitute, or SaaSS, which means letting someone else’s server do your own computing activities.
…
Why does this control matter? Because freedom means having control over your own life.
http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/09/why-free-software-is-more-important-now-than-ever-before/