Trisquel 7.0 LTS Released, Still Aiming At A More Free Ubuntu

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Trisquel 7.0 LTS Released, Still Aiming At A More Free Ubuntu

Trisquel, the Free Software Foundation approved free-software-only Linux distribution based off Ubuntu, is out with its version 7.0 "Belenos" long-term support release that they intend to maintain until 2019...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTgyOTc

[emblemparade]

Grammar: the comparative of "free" is "freer", not "more free".

[danieru]

Grammar: the comparative of "free" is "freer", not "more free".

I think "100% free" might be ok too

[risho]

I'm still trying to figure out how the kernel that as is claimed in the article blocks certain kernel modules from being loaded is more "free" than the one that doesn't descriminate and lets you run whatever kernel modules you want.

[r_a_trip]

I'm still trying to figure out how the kernel that as is claimed in the article blocks certain kernel modules from being loaded is more "free" than the one that doesn't descriminate and lets you run whatever kernel modules you want.

For this one you need to put on an FSF hat. It has a greater degree of freedom, because the licensing on all parts of the kernel respect the four freedoms; you have the right to run all of it, to study all of it, to alter all of it and to distribute all of it. In practise this means that the Trisquel kernel only contains code under GPLv2 or compatible license. This only works for the greater degree of freedom thing if you stricly adhere to the FSF views on software freedom.

I think banning firmware blobs is academic nitpicking, as these binary pieces only work on specific hardware and in the past these blobs were burned into ROM and weren't alterable at all. Since these are now theoretically alterable (loaded at runtime), the FSF stance is that the license should be a free one. Yet RMS said that he would be content with it if these blobs were once again burned into ROM, as that makes the rights to it equal for all (no one can do anything about it).

As such I can't see this as a genuine call for the ability to alter this stuff. If burned into ROM firmware is OK (even if it is backdoored and kills kittens) and a software loadable blob (which solves world hunger and protects its users privacy) is the devil, then you know something is fishy with the espoused position.

[dungeon]

I'm still trying to figure out how the kernel that as is claimed in the article blocks certain kernel modules from being loaded is more "free" than the one that doesn't descriminate and lets you run whatever kernel modules you want.

It is about free as free software freedom, that is not free as do whatever you want freedom .

You can consider free software as conservative culture which always learn you what that is, as apposed to whatever you want freedom where you can easely forget what that is

[randomizer]

As such I can't see this as a genuine call for the ability to alter this stuff. If burned into ROM firmware is OK (even if it is backdoored and kills kittens) and a software loadable blob (which solves world hunger and protects its users privacy) is the devil, then you know something is fishy with the espoused position.

It's ok because the firmware is considered part of the hardware (as far as RMS is concerned) since it is physically impossible to modify it. That doesn't mean it doesn't do nasty stuff, but insofar as the four freedoms are concerned it's ok.

[amp3030]

The main thing is...

not to remove the blob from your kernel, but to use a WiFi card that requires no binary blob. To my surprise, intel's wireless driver is not free.
What you need is to replace it with a RYF (respect-your-freedom) card or dongle, as explained, e.g., here.

[drspinderwalf]

Grammar: the comparative of "free" is "freer", not "more free".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY

[Luke]

Hardware isn't free either

not to remove the blob from your kernel, but to use a WiFi card that requires no binary blob. To my surprise, intel's wireless driver is not free.
What you need is to replace it with a RYF (respect-your-freedom) card or dongle, as explained, e.g., here.

Since you can't make a wireless card on a 3d printer, and can't make it from discrete components from Radio Shack or the dumpster either, that means hardware is never free. It may be more free to use hardware you already have then to buy new hardware in order to be able to use open firmware.

That said, Trisquel used with such hardware has another, entirely different use case: ultra-high security requiring situations. The example would be handling the take from the next Snowden, where you are explicitly going up against the NSA and NOTHING is trusted absolutely. You can't really get trust that is "turtles all the way down" without making all your own chips, but coreboot, open firmware, and something like Trisquel is probably as close as you can get without owning your own chip fab. Whoever handled that take last time around evidently did things right, by comparison there was a laptop in the Chelsea Manning case used by an outside contact carelessly (disk wiped only with zeroes) that played a key role in her ever being captured.