Re: LCC and blobs
Matthew Garrett <mgarrett@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
> > Think of it this way. For the card with the built-in firmware, the
> > driver does not depend on any additional packages or software
> > distribution to work. By contrast, for the card with the separate
> > firmware, the driver *does* depend on that additional package to work.
>
> The dependency still exists - it just isn't expressed within the terms
> of our package management system. I am entirely happy to describe this
> distinction as arbitrary.
And yet, in this case the non-freeness of the software isn't hurting
the user. The point isn't whether the firmware "exists", the point is
whether the user is being prevented from modifying it by licensing or
non-source-distribution restrictions.
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