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Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP and Perl are all free of charge to download, install, copy and distribute to friends, but they are also free as in speech, in that they are "Open Source" software. This means that anyone anywhere in the world can access the source code to these programs. Programmers all over the globe can find and fix bugs or vulnerabilities or other weaknesses, and share those fixes with everyone else, making the whole product better and better at a very rapid pace. They are also free to make improvements and add features. Many excellent (and free) programs have evolved through this process. Firefox is an excellent browser, with many nice features over the competition such as tabs and built-in pop-up stopper. If you need a full-power office suite, you can purchase Microsoft Office for close to $600, or you can download OpenOffice for free. Need a high-powered email client with features like OutLook (or is it LookOut?) but without the tendency to run viruses? Mozilla Thunderbird and Ximian Evolution are excellent choices, and guess what? They're free. :)
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