Pretty much the title. I literally just finished my Debian install. I know that free software is a big part of Debian's ethos, but I can't help but feeling that it is a difficult goal to use only free software as defined by the Debian Free Software Guidelines. I wasn't even able to make it through an install without installing a non-free driver for wifi. I imagine it being especially difficult if one is installing on a laptop made by any big name company (I might be wrong about that).

Second question if you feel up to it: What are your thoughts on the future of Debian if it continues its commitment to free software?

I see Debian (Live USB without non-free software) works good on my Lenovo Thinkpad laptop - except for the WIFI connection.

Questions:-

1. I want to understand, is this non-free software mostly for WIFI/Printer/Audio-Video, etc. ??
2. What all will I miss if I stick to just free and open source software philosophy of Debian GNU/Linux ??
3. Can I play audio/video files using VLC without these non-free software?

Thanks.

First, I should clarify, I don't think it's bad to care about freedom. I think that Debian having a firm separation of free and non-free is fantastic, and I'm glad it doesn't haphazardly lump everything together like some other distros. It makes it easy to run a system that is completely free without any binary blobs or proprietary firmware. And ultimately, this isn't a criticism of the distribution itself, but of how it promotes itself and makes itself accessible and available to a wider audience.

All that in mind, I have to say: Debian's current approach isn't really helping anyone who wants a free system, but it's making it much less accessible to the average user.

Let's lay out the state of modern hardware. All recent AMD GPUs require proprietary firmware to function at all. All recent NVIDIA GPUs require proprietary firmware to function at all (even with Nouveau). Somewhere around 90% of modern systems will require non-free firmware just to use a desktop, unless they want to entirely rely on software rendering. Even then, one of the major issues for Bullseye right now is that some graphics cards are incapable of functioning at all without firmware, to the extent that software rendering is impossible.

But even if you disregard that, you have Wi-Fi. Almost every single Wi-Fi adapter I've ever owned has required non-free firmware. If you want a free device, you have to buy one with that in mind, because the most popular chips across the board are all produced by companies that require proprietary firmware. This is probably one of the most common sources of confusion and frustration from new users that install Debian. It's almost a rote response to send them a link to the non-free firmware installation image.

But we'll put both of those things aside, and look at our ideal machine with blobless Intel graphics and an Ethernet connection. You still don't have CPU microcode, and that doesn't just introduce issues, it introduces massive security risks in some cases. Getting regular microcode updates is important.

And in response to all this, it's easy to say, "Well, if a user needs non-free firmware or wants the microcode, they can just get the non-free images or enable the non-free component", but that's a big hurdle. On https://debian.org/, the main download button just gives you the regular netinstall image. No further questions or warnings. If your Wi-Fi doesn't work, you just can't even install with it. Maybe that's an advantage because it prevents p

Former Debian project leader Martin Michlmayr has released two reports about "FOSS foundations"

Curiously absent is any mention of the FSF just as curiously omni-present is the use of "open source", in these reports sponsored by the Ford Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Michlmayr's homepage states: "I currently work as a freelance consultant, providing services related to open source community management, open source foundations and governance [..]" He is, of course, a signee to the anti-FSF letter as well.

Any sort of "Community management" within Free Software should be a red flag, because it makes users (and developers) assets that can be exchanged for profile visibility when climbing up the ladder.

Add an invented "scandal" as a multiplier for that visibility, and there's your explanation for the number of "high profile" signatures. For many it's simply an opportunity to "network".

"Community" used to be an organic thing, but now it seems to have been co-opted by community-consensus factories like the OSI.

If your distribution is thinking about something like "community management", run, don't walk. They might even provide 100% Free Software, but you've inadvertently become an asset for the self-serving and the grifter-mindset.

Hope you're all having a great day.

To add to the title, I am a front end developer and I need my browsers to be on the latest versions (chrome and firefox), and I am considering switching to debian due to its stability (I come from linux mint).

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I've read somewhere that you can't do binary distribution of non-free software. And that's the reason why every repository do not include non-free features in packages.

Then how things like AUR and debian-non-free.iso are legal?

Maybe a stupid question. Thanks anyway.

On my Android phone I have an app called "Linux News", which comes with a lot of sources pre-configured, unfortunately it doesn't let you add your own sources.

I'm now setting up a news/feed reader on my desktop and I was wondering which sources to add.

I personally enjoy reading opensource.com, phoronix and LinuxGizmos, among others. PlanetDebian is probably going on my list as well.

As for the feed reader, I thought about installing Liferea which seems to be the most popular... but then I realized Thunderbird also has a feed reader and I usually already have it open most of the time, so it might be a good option to avoid having yet another program/window open on my desktop.

What do you fancy?

He whose code is public, And works free, And shares the source in his project; He who does not capture his user, Nor does evil to his customer, Nor does he take up a reproach against his dev; In whose eyes a restrictive license is despised, But he honors those who contribute to the desktop; He who shares to his own commercial detriment and does not change; He who does not put out his software at usury, Nor does he take a patent against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

Hi,

I just installed Ubuntu LTS today and noticed that every single time Ive ever used the software center on any recent Ubuntu LTS release you have to wait a very long time for the categories to load.

I initially thought this wasnt actually supported, until walked away came back and it had finally the productivity category had loaded. (note: i waited at-least 30 seconds before i walked away also)

Ive tested the gnome software centres on Fedora 35 and Debian 11 and they are both working fine, load within about 2 seconds.

Its quite mind blowing this hasn't been fixed, seems like this has been a problem for years now.

If Ubuntu is for new linux users coming from windows, ive got to say this is a major turnoff straight away (just saying - rant over)

I recently installed Debian with cinnamon DE on my laptop, I could install Chromium browser but after trying to install other programs Brave browser, Visual Studio Code or Discord I get:

"E: enable to locate package (name of the software I typed)"

How I try to install it: 1> su 2> apt-get install Discord

Thank You :)

This error box appeared when I pushed the 'refresh' button.

"Failed to update metadata for lvfs": Is that a repository or ?

Nothing for 'lvfs' appears anywhere in the dialogs for the software app settings.

Here's my sources.list:

# See https://wiki.debian.org/SourcesList for more information.
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye non-free contrib main  
# deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye main contrib non-free 

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye-updates main contrib non-free 
# deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye-updates main 

deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main contrib non-free 
# deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main 

It matches the sources shown in the software app settings window.

Any enlightenment appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I chose Fedora because I have newer hardware and I needed a recent kernel version to support it. I didn't go for Ubuntu 21 because of the complaints around Snap packages. As a Linux beginner should I have gone with Ubuntu just for the ease of packaged apps?

There are a few apps I want that don't have .rpm packages.

Brightness Controller: https://github.com/lordamit/Brightness

There are manual install instructions, which I followed. I was able to open the app but the controls didn't affect anything.

Portmaster https://safing.io/portmaster/

I haven't tried following their manual instructions yet.

I assume its proprietary drivers or binary blobs somewhere? Are the non-free parts of Debian essential to its functioning?

I'd like to go as free as possible with my software, but none of the distros endorsed by the FSF seem very stable or mature. And frankly, I'm a bit lost without apt.

I am a huge fan of Linux using it for over 3 years now , mostly with Ubuntu and Raspbian (raspberry pi's debian fork).

I see this rapidly developing community of arch and arch Linux based distros coming. I indeed want to try them, but most websites out there provide ppa and dependency installation commands for Debian based distros and not for arch

My question is how can I use those Debian PPAs in arch or arch based distros ? How can I find arch equivalents for dependencies available in debian?

I am kind of a noob, sorry if this question annoys you 😅

Update: An example of a software I use with dependencies is older versions of python, in Ubuntu I use a ppa named deadsnakes to install older python versions. Can I do something similar in arch?

I'd like to be able to install a fresh Fedora or Debian OS, and dnf install brave-browser without installing any third-party repo, or manually downloading an rpm/deb package, or by installing a Flatpak.

Does Brave have any future plans of getting included in free Linux repositories?

Thanks for your insights.

Im thinking about buying a new laptop that works good with free software. I would prefer a thinkpad. I dont mind if the BIOS is not free, just that the peripherals work well such as wifi, bluetooth, etc. I know about the x200 but that is too old. A newer core i* processor would be amazing. I would love if it works with Trisquel, Parabola or Debian. Thanks.

Title.

I've just installed Debian 11 LXDE without any non-free packages into my old notebook.
Everything went fine except for the screen display, which there were some issues. Some of them could be solved by switching the BIOS from LEGACY to UEFI mode and reinstalling Debian. However, even so, some unpleasant issues still remain:

• no backlight brightness control
• ScreenLock (and other similar software) unable to turnoff the backlight

All these issues could be easily solved by installing the non-free package firmware-amd-graphics. However, according to some sources:

• "Non-free includes packages that do not comply with the DFSG (Debian Free Software Guidelines)", Wikipedia
• "Non-free software is made available to those who wish to risk its ills. Before blindly installing non-free software it may be prudent to ask if there is a Free replacement.", Debian Wiki

QUESTION
Therefore, as suggested by the Debian Wiki, is there a DFSG alternative to avoid the non-free package firmware-amd-graphics?

System Specifications

Product Name: Aspire E1-421 APU
CPU: AMD E1-1200 APU @ 1400 MHz
GPU: Radeon(tm) HD Graphics

root@debian:~# journalctl -b | grep -i "vga\|radeon\|kms\|drm"
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: smpboot: CPU0: AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics (family: 0x14, model: 0x2, stepping: 0x0)
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: pci 0000:00:01.0: vgaarb: setting as boot VGA device
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: pci 0000:00:01.0: vgaarb: VGA device added: decodes=io+mem,owns=io+mem,locks=none
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: pci 0000:00:01.0: vgaarb: bridge control possible
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: vgaarb: loaded
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: fb0: EFI VGA frame buffer device
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: ACPI: Video Device [VGA] (multi-head: yes  rom: no  post: no)
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: [drm] radeon kernel modesetting enabled.
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian kernel: [drm:radeon_pci_probe [radeon]] *ERROR* radeon kernel modesetting for R600 or later requires firmware installed
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian systemd[1]: Starting Load Kernel Module drm...
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian systemd[1]: modprobe@drm.service: Succeeded.
Jan 28 22:30:33 debian systemd[1]: Finished Load Kernel Module drm.


root@debian:~# lspci -k | grep -EA3 'VGA|3D|Display'
00:01.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Wrestler [Ra

So I accidentally on purpose installed Debian non-free, and im trying to remove the non-free stuff, I removed most of it, but im unsure of these

main@Windows:~$ vrms
              Non-free packages installed on Windows

firmware-misc-nonfree               Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kerne
intel-microcode                     Processor microcode firmware for Intel CPUs

   Non-free packages with status other than installed on Windows

amd64-microcode                     ( dei)  Processor microcode firmware for AMD CPUs
dahdi-firmware-nonfree              ( dei)  DAHDI non-free firmware
firmware-ipw2x00                    ( dei)  Binary firmware for Intel Pro Wireless 2100, 2
firmware-ivtv                       ( dei)  Binary firmware for iTVC15-family MPEG codecs

               Contrib packages installed on Windows

iucode-tool                         Intel processor microcode tool

  6 non-free packages, 0.3% of 2058 installed packages.
  1 contrib packages, 0.0% of 2058 installed packages.

I dont know how kernels work, can I brake the kernel if I remove firmware-misc-nonfree

and the cpu microcode, this is the first time ive installed on a macbook and its not hot enough to cook an egg, I think they microcode might be doing that, thoughts?

the next four just moved from the top list to the second list, are they actually uninstalled?

and the iucode-tool, I have no idea what that is? safe to remove?

Also I installed bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.271+bdcom-0ubuntu3_amd64.deb for wifi using dpkg -i, but it dosnt show on the list, is there a more comprehensive way to search for non free stuff on my computer than invoking Richard m Stallman?

GitHub Repository - https://github.com/hwittenborn/mpm

Background

Up until a few months ago - I've been bouncing back between Arch Linux and Ubuntu, not being able to decide on one or the other.

Even with things like Manjaro, things always ended up tending to work better on Ubuntu. After enough pain with constantly reinstalling OSs onto my machine, I eventually decided to stick with Ubuntu.

But oh boy is the AUR good.

From here comes my first project, makedeb. This takes PKGBUILD files and converts them into .deb files for APT.

After a bit though, I wanted some way of updating my AUR packages in the same fashion a package manager would. From here mpm is born.

Package Info

mpm initially only supported installing packages from the AUR, with the most recent update adding support for the Arch Linux repositories (currently available in the alpha release).

I've yet to add documentation for any of this, but if you have any questions on how this all works, feel free to leave a comment :D.

I'm relatively new to Linux and I have been interested in Debian for their core philosophy regarding free software. I have tried it on a VM for some time, and as I understand things, in order to keep the system super stable only older/stable versions of software are allowed by default, as those versions would probably have gone through a lot of debugging over time, which makes sense.

However, while some programs offer ESR like Firefox, with continued security updates over time, what happens with all the other smaller programs that don't support an ESR version?

Say a program is on version 5, and then a big security issue is found and fixed right away, and now that is version 6, which also brings cosmetics changes to the menus etc... Would the repositories update the version of that software so that version 6 is the latest by default on Debian, or would they only allow version 5 for a few months until version 6 is updated a few times to 6.1, 6.2, etc?

Debian's Update Alternatives system lets you install multiple versions of the same software, for example Node.js 11, 12, 13, and 14, to /opt or other out-of-the-way location, link one of them as the system version, and then quickly swap between them for the system version with a single command (update-alternatives). Does Arch have anything like this?

I didn't know he was a Go player. Here's the quote:

>Rather than trying to have the last word, look for the times when there is no need to reply, perhaps because you already made the relevant point clear enough. If you know something about the game of Go, this analogy might clarify that: when the opponent's move is not strong enough to require a direct response, it is advantageous to give it none and instead move elsewhere.

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/kind-communication.html

The mentioned server currently runs:

• Mail server for me and a couple more people (less than 20 accounts, of which only about 4 receive email in a regular basis).
• Media server, including streaming and transcoding (Plex Media Server).
• Torrent seedbox (transmission-daemon).
• TeamSpeak server.
• Web server for my blog, webpages, and small projects (nginx, MySql, MongoDB, PHP).
• OpenVPN server.
• TOR Relay.
• Whatever I need somewhere somehow for whatever reason.

Right now CPU usage is pretty low (less than 10%/5m avg), and system load is about 0.1.

However, as this server may be used for more projects, of which some may be more cpu or disk consuming, I'd like to install some monitoring software which allow me to remotely watch cpu usage, system load and bandwidth history, and maybe send me email alerts if some of these values go suspiciosly high.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge and recommendations, /r/sysadmin! :D