Gnewsense more free than Debian.

[chris_andrew]

Hi, all.

I am just installing Gnewsense (http://www.gnewsense.org/). this seems to be a spin-off of Ubuntu, but with any non-free stuff stripped out.

I kind of thought that that was what the original Debian was.

So is Gnewsense "more free" than Debian?

Any thoughts on the distro?

Chris.

[tbroderick]

You should read the FAQ.


3. Aren't Ubuntu/Debian already free?

Neither Debian nor Ubuntu are fully free. Ubuntu installs non-free software by default. Debian provides non-free software through its repositories and includes non-free kernel drivers

[Bloodfen Razormaw]

No, it isn't true. Debian is 100% free software. To get any non-free software in Debian you have to add new repositories that will provide that to your sources list on your own. Ubuntu, on the other hand, installs non-free software by default already (e.g. Firefox) and will be installing much more restrictive software by default in the future (non-free drivers). So Gnewssense is more free than Ubuntu, but not Debian.

[darrenm]

I thought Debian now shipped firmware by default?

[Bloodfen Razormaw]

Firmware is usually considered a hardware detail, not a software one, as it operates at the level of the hardware that is already proprietary. Gnewsense actually forces you to use proprietary firmware even more strictly than Debian, by limiting your choices in hardware to only that which already has the proprietary firmware installed (only now, without even being able to see the hex encoded instructions in the driver source).