Mike Gerwitz <m...@gnu.org> skribis: > On Tue, Jan 16, 2018 at 12:10:53 +0100, Ludovic Courtès wrote: >> Should GuixSD nevertheless provide a mechanism to support microcode >> updates, while not steering users to particular proprietary microcode? >> Just like Linux-libre (attempts to) support loading of proprietary >> firmware at the user’s choice? Would it make sense at all? > > Does Linux-Libre specifically support loading proprietary firmware, or > does the project phrase it as _any_ firmware, free or not, that the user > may provide?
It obviously supports loading free firmware like what we provide in Guix. However, firmware is searched for under a specific file name, you can tell that some of these correspond to proprietary firmware only. Now, I wrote “attempts to” because my understanding is that, even though the project intends to permit it, the deblobbling code often/always breaks the non-free firmware loading code. > My point being: if there only exists proprietary microcode, it's hard to > make the argument that a freedom-respecting user will use a microcode > update tool for anything other than proprietary software. In that case, > does the inclusion of the microcode updater in Guix encourage the use of > non-free microcode, even if it doesn't state where to get it? Right, it’s a valid argument. Thanks, Ludo’.
