On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 5:57 PM, Ray Saintonge saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Carcharoth wrote:
On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 1:50 PM, Sam Korn smoddy@gmail.com wrote:
On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Thomas Dalton thomas.dalton@gmail.com wrote:
2009/2/16 Alvaro García alvareo@gmail.com:
Doesn't the -ware suffix only show that the software isn't paid?
No... the "free" part shows that. The "ware" part shows that it's software...
But, generally, yes: "freeware" means free-gratis, not free-libre.
And the -ware suffix does show that it is a product.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-ware
That article's a bit rubbish, but gives you some idea.
Treating "ware" as a suffix is what makes it rubbish as much as anything else. "Ware" is the root noun in the word, and it would be more correct to treat "free-" or "share-" or "soft-" as attributive prefixes.
Interesting. I wouldn't disagree, and "ware" (usually plural) is a word in its own right. How would *you* reorganise things relating to "ware" on Wikipedia? There is Ware (disambiguation) and the town. Where do you go from there?
Carcharoth