GNU Linux-libre 5.4-gnu sources and tarballs are now available at <http://www.fsfla.org/selibre/linux-libre/download/releases/5.4-gnu/>. It didn't require any deblobbing changes since -rc7-gnu, the first published rc-gnu. Binaries are on the way.
The bulk of the changes in deblob-check this cycle have to do with an attempted broadening of the potential firmware name patterns, that led to the addition of matchers for many false positives. I couldn't complete it in this cycle, but I left the new false positives in place, and a WIP comment next to the potential firmware name pattern indicating what I was getting at. Contributions are welcome ;-) There was only one new driver that required deblobbing, or rather disabling of blob loading: an ethernet driver for Intel Ethernet Connection E800 Series. Various other drivers needed adjustments to account mostly for updated blob names, but also occasional code movement: safexcel, amdgpu, i915, i2400m, i1480u, nitrox, r8169, touchscreen_dmi, and skylake sound. The last remnants of the netx driver were removed, and so the corresponding deblobbing could be dropped as well. I noticed that cleaned-up scripts were losing the executable bit, and arranged for it to be retained. The one decision I wasn't so sure about in this cycle was in a new driver in drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k, namely ath9k_pci_owl_loader.c, activated by ATH9K_PCI_NO_EEPROM. IIUC, it's initialization data, such as the MAC address, for ath9k cards that have had the EEPROM chip holding it removed. If there's any actual code there, since it's ath9k, I assumed it would be Free Software, though I couldn't quite find any evidence that there's any code whatsoever in there. Even if there is, the firmware image, with MAC address and all, is specific to an individual card, presumably extracted from it or custom-designed for it, so I conclude there's no harm done in enabling it to be loaded. Please let me know if you find that I've based my reasoning on incorrect information. For up-to-the-minute news, join us on #linux-libre of irc.gnu.org (Freenode), or follow me (@lxoliva) on Twister <http://twister.net.co/>, Secure Scuttlebutt, GNU social at social.libreplanet.org, Diaspora* at pod.libreplanetbr.org or pump.io at identi.ca. Check my web page (link in the signature) for direct links. Be Free! with GNU Linux-libre. What is GNU Linux-libre? ------------------------ GNU Linux-libre is a Free version of the kernel Linux (see below), suitable for use with the GNU Operating System in 100% Free GNU/Linux-libre System Distributions. http://www.gnu.org/distros/ It removes non-Free components from Linux, that are disguised as source code or distributed in separate files. It also disables run-time requests for non-Free components, shipped separately or as part of Linux, and documentation pointing to them, so as to avoid (Free-)baiting users into the trap of non-Free Software. http://www.fsfla.org/anuncio/2010-11-Linux-2.6.36-libre-debait Linux-libre started within the gNewSense GNU/Linux distribution. It was later adopted by Jeff Moe, who coined its name, and in 2008 it became a project maintained by FSF Latin America. In 2012, it became part of the GNU Project. The GNU Linux-libre project takes a minimal-changes approach to cleaning up Linux, making no effort to substitute components that need to be removed with functionally equivalent Free ones. Nevertheless, we encourage and support efforts towards doing so. http://libreplanet.org/wiki/LinuxLibre:Devices_that_require_non-free_firmware Our mascot is Freedo, a light-blue penguin that has just come out of the shower. Although we like penguins, GNU is a much greater contribution to the entire system, so its mascot deserves more promotion. See our web page for their images. http://linux-libre.fsfla.org/ What is Linux? -------------- Linux is a clone of the Unix kernel [...] (snipped from Documentation/admin-guide/README.rst) -- Alexandre Oliva, freedom fighter he/him https://FSFLA.org/blogs/lxo Free Software Evangelist Stallman was right, but he's left :( GNU Toolchain Engineer FSMatrix: It was he who freed the first of us FSF & FSFLA board member The Savior shall return (true); -- If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.
