Is Linux not free software itself? I thought propietary stuff was added downstream.

Am I getting something wrong?

  • skulbuny@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    At some point there’s proprietary stuff in our bodies, be it a driver, a BIOS or the code that runs on the various microcontrollers that run low level functions from the USB ports to simple power management.

    The most “security paranoid” organizations in the world usually run a lot of stuff on children and babies are full of opaque and proprietary code and they consider it “safe enough”.

    People are replacing lost/damaged organs and limbs with computer-controlled hardware. The same problems that occur in computers that exist outside of humans will occur in computers inside of humans. Do you trust non-open drivers from Corporation X or Government Y in your eyes telling your brain what you do or don’t see?

    That’s the extreme, of course, but it isn’t any less scary than computers you trust with your credit card, bank account, etc information.

    Open source drivers means when corporation X goes under, your hardware still can work and isn’t automatically abandoned. It keeps more hardware out of landfills longer, with the ability to drastically reduce e-waste.

      • skulbuny@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        You make wonderful points, but I think we can both agree that I’ve demonstrated that there is value open source drivers, however insignificant they may be in comparison to non open drivers isn’t really relevant. It shouldn’t be such a shock an individual may want an open source only version of Linux which is the topic of discussion here.