Re: [GNU-linux-libre] boinc

[Karl Goetz]

On Fri, 27 Jul 2012, 20:51:03 EST, Ramana Kumar <address@hidden> wrote:

> On Thu, 26 Jul 2012, Karl Goetz wrote:
> > > I would like help with advising them (entering that conversation on
> > > the boinc-dev mailing list is preferable), and eventually to approve
> > > the blacklist removal.
> > > Anyone qualified to do so, please do.
> >
> > Not sure i understand this bit.
>
> I mean I would like someone else to make particular recommendations
> about how to deal with boinc's freedom issues on the boinc-dev mailing
> list.
> They seem willing to listen.

From reading the list it seems they have decided to remove glut and note that the tclient should work without it (which i guess means libre distros can remove it now if they wish).

http://lists.ssl.berkeley.edu/pipermail/boinc_dev/2012-July/018787.html
http://lists.ssl.berkeley.edu/pipermail/boinc_dev/2012-July/018788.html (first paragraph)

> I recommended a strategy (whitelisting known free apps) from the
> LibrePlanet wiki, but I am not really expert in how much they would
> have to do to make it qualify as free software.

Not offering to install, and not installing proprietary software automatically would be required. I dont know how upstream would feel, but i suspect a compile time option is the best we will manage.

This post (1) sounds like its possible to build it in such a way, but introduces extra difficulty in install. If your distro pre packaged libre boinc addons that would help eliminate the problem - as debian does with address@hidden and others (2).

(1) http://lists.ssl.berkeley.edu/pipermail/boinc_dev/2012-July/018788.html
(2) http://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=boinc

>
> P.S. include me in the CC if you reply because I'm not subscribed to
> this list.

Done, and btw:
Someone said "A lot of things "come with" the source code of BOINC. Did you also
delete the "Copyright Microsoft, All rights reserved" DLLs in
'win_build', and the NVIDIA stuff in 'coprocs'?" (3).

Debian do this (4), so its derivatives get that freedom free :)

(3) http://lists.ssl.berkeley.edu/pipermail/boinc_dev/2012-July/018790.html
(4) http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=pkg-boinc/boinc.git;a=blob;f=debian/README.source;h=6591892e7b9cb92c4b6ca78b8b50f276f387a186;hb=HEAD line 50+

thanks,
kk