On 08.03.25 15:36, Simon Josefsson wrote:
One difference is that you could chose to trust their hardware (CPUs) but don't trust their software (non-free firmware).
True. But so, again, what's the material difference between "the firmware is baked into the hardware and cannot be changed" vs. "the firmware can be updated"?
Answer: there isn't one. They're both software, except that the vendor can choose to fix bugs on the latter. Nothing the FSF wrote or can possibly write changes this basic fact.
As a customer, which most of us are by necessity, simply because making hardware is a lot more expensive than coding, I am strictly worse off with ROM firmware. Why should I even report a bug to the manufacturer when that's of no benefit to me unless I toss out the buggy hardware and buy all-new stuff? Why should I ask the manufacturer to please open up their sources, maybe starting off with hardware that is no longer produced anyway, when I can't actually *use* the newly-open-sourced code for anything?
There was and still is no advantage to not shipping firmware with Debian, other than lofty philosophical principles and/or moral purity. If you decide not to buy hardware that requires loadable firmware you'll do that whether or not Debian also supports devices you won't buy. If I get my hands on hardware that won't work without it I can always install some other distribution instead of Debian, but I'm very unlikely to toss the hardware in question into the recycling bin and buy something that does.
Summary: We should, and in fact decided to (last time this came up), be pragmatic and leave the philosophy to the FSF.
My personal opinion: You want open hardware? go and build some yourself. That's the way how we got free/libre software, after all.
-- -- regards -- -- Matthias Urlichs
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