I don't think Linux is "Open Core" [LWN.net]

I don't think Linux is "Open Core"

Posted Nov 12, 2010 9:21 UTC (Fri) by anselm (subscriber, #2796)
In reply to: I don't think Linux is "Open Core" by lxoliva
Parent article: FSFLA: Linux kernel is "open core"

Precisely because this convenience will play against you and the community when the time comes to recommend a computer for someone else to buy, or even at your next purchase.

Whenever I want to buy a new computer I take a Debian CD into the shop to check and see what it does to the machine I have in mind. If important parts don't seem to work I don't buy the computer, and tell the shop attendants why.

I've been a Linux user since 1993, and so far, over the years Linux support has improved, not deteriorated, with every single computer I have bought. On my current laptop, which is a very nice machine with lots of built-in goodies, everything except for the fingerprint reader worked from the get-go. If you can live without 3D graphics for the sake of »freedom« then I can certainly live without a fingerprint reader.

If you go through a painful experience, and you understand that the pain is inflicted by the hardware vendor rather than by the operating system community, you will work hard to avoid that pain next time.

I don't know about you, but personally I avoid pain by not going through a painful experience in the first place if I can help it. I appreciate the efforts of the Linux kernel development community, the Debian project (as the makers of my preferred Linux distribution), and those hardware manufacturers who encourage Linux support for their products (who will always get my business in preference to other vendors). All of these together work very hard to help me avoid pain, and so far they have never let me down. I'm grateful.

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I don't think Linux is "Open Core"

Posted Nov 12, 2010 18:48 UTC (Fri) by lxoliva (subscriber, #40702) [Link]

Thank you for being a good, freedom-supporting customer. I wish more people were like us.

Now, may I suggest that you use one of the 100% Free distros instead? Debian has been shipping a growing lot of non-Free firmware in its kernel for quite a long time. Your improved experience may unfortunately be a reflection of an illusion that the software you've tried is Free, while in reality some of the components only work because of the non-Free blobs hiding in there.

I applaud Debian's decision to push those blobs out of its main kernel for the upcoming release. If they also refrain from placing those blobs in the CDs you use for testing, you should start getting a more accurate picture of the reality of the situation.

Which, as you say, isn't as bad as it once was. Whereas before you'd only have hope of a fully functional computer selecting off-board components individually and assembling the computer yourself, it is nowadays possible to find mass-produced computers (netbooks, notebooks, desktops, workstations, servers) at mass retailers at affordable prices that will work 100% with a wholly Free operating system. Let's keep the pressure on!