On 07/12/14 20:52, Otto Moerbeek wrote:
> On Sun, Dec 07, 2014 at 08:29:48PM +1100, Riley Baird wrote:
>
>> On 07/12/14 20:20, Dmitrij D. Czarkoff wrote:
>>> Riley Baird said:
>>>> As for why I want to create the distro, I think that OpenBSD has
>>>> excellent security, and I would like to create a version without the
>>>> binary-only microcode included.
>>>
>>> Isn't it easier to just do
>>>
>>> # cd /mnt/etc; tar czf firmware{.tgz,}; rm -R firmware
>>>
>>> from bsd.rd after installer exits?
>>
>> Yes, it definitely would be. You'd also need to change the installer
>> script such that fw_update is not run on first boot. I've removed the
>> firmware from my own system already. Also, it would be nice to be able
>> to build the source tree without requiring the firmware files to exist.
>>
>> However, remember that if someone doesn't know much about OpenBSD, they
>> will either: a) think that OpenBSD does not contain binary-only firmware
>> due to the "Blob-Busters" marketing or b) not know where to look to
>> remove it should they wish to
>
> The blobs we do not like are pieces of code running inside the kernel.
>
> Code running on a device is a completely different category.
True, but the press releases never even mentioned the microcode, which
is kind of confusing given the normal usage of the word "binary blob".
I realise that this usage may have been propagated by the FSF, and on
many, many things they are insane (e.g. OpenBSD's ports tree, the GFDL),
but given that - for better or for worse - firmware is included in the
common usage of the word, it would make sense to clarify.
