Linux importance

Because it is free software, licensed under the GNU General Public License, Linux obviates the need for programmers to keep reinventing the operations layer with each new project. To wax metaphorical, the GNU family of tools provide royalty-free bricks and mortar with which to begin building independent projects. Critics of free software often voice fears that the freedoms and low cost of free software will lead to economic disaster for the computing sector. However, it is just as likely -- if not more likely -- that free software will do for the world of computing what Gutenberg's printing press did for the world of Letters.