[Please excuse the top post/reply, I just recently subscribed to -vote] I agree in principal that not having non-free software is the best-case scenario, but that time is clearly not now. The Nvidia drivers provide a most important example.
I have personally negotiated with several hardware vendors including Matrox, Nvidia, and Compaq about making drivers and other support software 100% DFSG compliant. The success has been mixed, but in every case, they are beginning to "see the light". Nvidia is the #1 or #2 video chip manufacturer in the world. Removing support for their product is not good for Debian. It will only increase support difficulties and alienate new users from trying to use Debian software. Debian must understand that Linux is still *very* new to many vendors (software and hardware). It will take some time for these vendors to successfully integrate within the community. In the case of video drivers, there is a lot of proprietary intellectual property that is built into the software driver to make the thing "go". In many instances, it is licensed from a third party, so the vendor could not open source the driver-- even if they wanted. Many vendors are moving to a model where proprietary IP will be moved on chip, thus avoiding the binary-only requirement. These transitions will take time, and it is important for Debian to support these efforts. If we abandon non-free, we are essentially telling Nvidia and other vendors: "Thank you for taking the time to integrate your software onto our platform, but your efforts are not good enough and we refuse to distribute it." Thanks, but no thanks?!?!? That is just closed minded and is a slap in the face to the vendors that are *writing* software for Linux. Take a trip down memory lane and remember how long it took to integrate hardware before companies began to start lending assistance. Getting support for their products on Linux is the first step in showing them the benefits of an open source policy. Remember: we are still just at the tip of the iceberg. There are many other vendors that have yet to integrate their products into Linux. Alienating Debian from those vendors that are supporting Linux right *now* is a mistake. Matt Pavlovich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
