On Nov 19, Oliver Kurth <okurth@gmx.net> wrote: >The firmware is needed. Without it, the device is completely dumb. >But there are some devices which can store the fw permanently. Also, >the fw is distributed on their (windows) installation CDs. Make an unofficial package which will contain just the firmware and distribute it from your web site. This is what I will do for my own packages. When sarge+1 will be released with a list of tens of unofficial repositories for firmwares maybe somebody will realize that some firmwares will probably never be free software, and restricting their distribution will not help encouraging developers to write free ones. Beware: I accept arguments about how using a non-free firmware is unacceptable only from people who have none in their hardware, and I'm sure that nobody here qualifies. Saying that some non-free software is OK because it comes in a EEPROM instead of on a CD is hypocrisy. In main there are already other free drivers for devices which require a firmware, so this is not a problem. The policy requires packages in main to "not require a package outside of main for compilation or execution", and the driver itself is fully functional even without the firmware. (The device may be a paperweight, but policy does not cover this.) -- ciao, | Marco | [3172 l'XoRKaZ02QyI]
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