[Pan-users] Re: Re: [OT] Linux vs GNU/Linux vs Freedomware Linux

[Yavor Doganov]

On Thu, 17 Aug 2006 06:43:34 -0400, Tim Kynerd wrote:
> Yavor Doganov wrote:
>> What's far more disturbing is that Linux, that is the word and the
>> project that most people associate with "Free Software", contains
>> non-free software in its source.  The Linux developers consider
>> popularity a more important goal than freedom, so this is not
>> surprising.
> 
> This is a very serious accusation and one I don't buy without proof. 
> Since you've made it, I think it's your responsibility to provide that 
> proof or else withdraw it.

Grep through the source and you'll find a lot of proof.

http://lists.debian.org/debian-release/2006/08/msg00021.html

,---- http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/linux-gnu-freedom.html ----
| The Linux sources themselves have an even more serious problem with
| non-free software: they actually contain some. Quite a few device
| drivers contain series of numbers that represent firmware programs to
| be installed in the device. These programs are not free software. A
| few numbers to be deposited into device registers are one thing; a
| substantial program in binary is another.
|
| The presence of these binary-only programs in ``source'' files of
| Linux creates a secondary problem: it calls into question whether
| Linux binaries can legally be redistributed at all. The GPL requires
| ``complete corresponding source code,'' and a sequence of integers is
| not the source code. By the same token, adding such a binary to the
| Linux sources violates the GPL.
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