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Yup - this will finally clear any doubt...Yup - this will finally clear any doubt...Posted Nov 9, 2010 3:06 UTC (Tue) by jebba (✭ supporter ✭, #4439)In reply to: Yup - this will finally clear any doubt... by bojan Parent article: FSFLA: Linux kernel is "open core"
> Feel free to not download or strip the non-free bits.
Which is exactly what the announcement is--a version you can download with non-free bits removed.
> Which, of course, will turn a whole lot of your hardware into bricks.
That is incorrect, actually. Most devices don't draw from non-free software in the kernel. The linux-libre kernel will run 100% fine on many systems. Wifi is the big exception--often (but not always) that requires uploading non-free firmware.
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Yup - this will finally clear any doubt... Posted Nov 9, 2010 3:11 UTC (Tue) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link]
> Wifi is the big exception--often (but not always) that requires uploading non-free firmware.
Who needs it anyway, eh? It's not like there are networks and apps out there you can connect to... :-)
Yup - this will finally clear any doubt... Posted Nov 9, 2010 5:09 UTC (Tue) by jebba (✭ supporter ✭, #4439) [Link]
> Who needs it anyway, eh? It's not like there are networks and apps out there you can connect to... :-)
...
> But at least this is not something Linus is supposed to support in any way, shape or form, because it really is outside the kernel.
Except that these things are *in* the kernel (tarball) at the moment, in some cases. It seems most Intel wifi firmware is outside (in fedora, for example, it's a separate RPM), but some wifi blobs are in the kernel tarball proper. Do you think the Intel firmware should be moved *in*? If not, why not have the other non-free blobs moved *out*? At least, for starters....
Yup - this will finally clear any doubt... Posted Nov 9, 2010 7:00 UTC (Tue) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link]
Outside the kernel in the sense that it doesn't really run as part of it. Same as other firmware. Kernel just treats it as data that needs to be pushed somewhere.
I'm guessing the distribution together with the rest of the kernel source is just a convenience thing.
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