Re: IceCat stability vs Firefox Linux/Windows

[Graziano Sorbaioli]

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Dmitri Gabinski wrote:

> Frankly, I started using IceCat just out of curiosity, just for fun.
> Now, I'm still here, because IC is faster than FF. That's the main
> advantage to _me_. 

> I respect, but I don't fully agree. The FSF understanding of freedom
> seems to me, well, restrictive! The real freedom is when you can also
> opt to abandon it :)


Of course you can do whatever you want.
I only invited you to join our fight for freedom because this is the
main reason GNU IceCat was created.
It's a good thing you approached us just for fun and I am happy you
joined our mailing list and started to find bugs.

I only would like to remind you what we are all about because it's
important.
The purpose of this list is not only that of find GNU Icecat bugs but
also to spread digital freedom and it's important you know about it.


> 
>> OpenSuse is not friendly to its users in term of freedom.
> 
> I haven't noticed that. I've bought a book on openSUSE with a DVD
> attached and haven't had any sign of restriction.

When you do not have the four freedom of free software then you are not
free: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

OpenSuse is not a fully free distribution, it is not listed here:
http://www.gnu.org/links/links.html#FreeGNULinuxDistributions

This means that it contains proprietary blobs in form of
firmware/software/driver.
If some of the code is proprietary then the users are not free as in
freedom.

Novell that endorses the OpenSuse distribution had a bad agreement with
Microsoft that is an enemy of our freedom too so it is not the
distribution I would suggest you to use.

You are free to use it of course but, as I reminded you before, the goal
of this list is also to educate users about defending their freedom.


> I'm afraid, you're wrong. Proprietary drivers are not included into
> openSUSE (unlike SLED), that's why I had to download a proprietary
> binary package to have a correct output (correct screen resolution
> namely) from a ATI Radeon on my laptop. Freedom is of little value when
> you screen is distorted.


Proprietary software don't always come in form of driver but also in
form of firmware needed for those drivers to function properly.

gNewSense stripped out all of the proprietary blobs, Opensuse didn't.

The Linux kernel used in all major distribution (OpenSuse included) is
not fully free because it contains proprietary firmware:

http://www.gnewsense.org/index.php?n=FAQ.FAQ#toc3



It's a shame that hardware companies force you to use proprietary
software and we try to avoid that when it is possible.
I am afraid you can't afford some new hardware parts or a new machine now.

The important thing is that you know what they are doing to you. They
are denying you freedom.




- --
Graziano Sorbaioli -- www.sorbaioli.org
I'm an FSF member -- Help us support software freedom!
http://www.fsf.org/jf?referrer=5796

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