Re: Firmware - what are we going to do about it?
Hi Steve,
Thank you for raising this issue and writing about it so clearly.
On Tue, Apr 19, 2022 at 01:27:46AM +0100, Steve McIntyre wrote:
5. We could split out the non-free firmware packages into a new
non-free-firmware component in the archive, and allow a specific
exception only to allow inclusion of those packages on our official
media. We would then generate only one set of official media,
including those non-free firmware packages.
My preference is a variation on Option 5: Effectively, a two-phase
version of it. I think we should produce installer media including
the non-free firmware and for that to be the media that people are
directed to, in the most part, via the normal routes (default path
on website, etc.¹)
However I think we should continue to produce install media without
non-free components, at least for a period of time after making the
switch (as another reply said, perhaps 1-2 releases and review). It
feels like me too big a step to take to stop producing DFSG-compliant
media. From simply a principle perspective, that's the "pure" aim
of the project. If we continue to provide it but not on the default
path then we might be able to gather some information on how popular
or useful it is (how many downloads it attracts; or what kind of
hardware configurations it can actually be used on; perhaps cross-
referencing it with popcon or installation-report data)
I'd also like to see us put a bit more effort into tools like vrms²
so we can make it easier for folks to gauge how much non-free stuff
they are relying upon and maybe even work towards offering tailored
alternatives. (For example I've currently got an Nvidia GPU and the
binary blob drivers installed, for the first time in over a decade,
and I could do with some hand-holding to identify an alternative
which would not require non-free drivers and/or firmware.)
¹ I agree with another person in this thread that the current behaviour
of auto-downloading an ISO after visiting /download is wrong and
should be changed, but, that is orthogonal to what you have raised
and should be addressed separately.
² perhaps starting with renaming it…
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👱🏻 Jonathan Dowland
✎ jmtd@debian.org
🔗 https://jmtd.net
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