Holger Levsen <holger@layer-acht.org> writes: > On Tue, Nov 25, 2025 at 02:31:56PM +0100, Simon Josefsson wrote: >> Except I don't understand what you mean with the "factually wrong" part: > > because in >98% of cases the devices in question will still run with non > free (& more outdated) firmware blobs, so not really libre at all. Okay. One point of "libre" software is to move that decision to the user, instead of making that decision for the user's behalf and only offer proprietary non-free software to the user. I believe the latter is unethical. This makes it possible to allow those users to keep running Debian, which should be good right? I think the >98% number gives an unfair impression, but I agree it is somewhere between 0 and 100. The number is also different if you consider non-free software stored in ROM (which I think you do?), or if you accept them (which I do), with the latter being the FSF philosophy. I have some relatively modern machines that I can make use of without having to handle non-free software when I install the OS. Including Framework Laptop 13 (AMD HX 370), NovaCustom NV56 (I155H), NovaCustom NV41 (i7-1260P), MSI Z790-P (i9-14900K), ADLINK Ampere Altra arm64, Dell R630 2xE2680v4, and Raptor Talos II ppc64el. I suspect the P550 riscv64 is another example, but haven't confirmed it. My guess is that around 20% of laptops out there requires providing it with non-free software to start. I have the MNT Reform laptop but as far as I understand it needs non-free DDR training blobs to start. Yes, there are limitations to what I can do on my machines, and things can be improved further. I wish there were more libre hardware around. I wish more features (e.g., WiFi) worked without non-free software on the hardware I have. But the Debian Libre Live images works for my use-cases now. And the default Debian installer images does not work for my use-cases. Others are free to make other trade-offs. Some will end up using macOS. Some will use Windows. Some will use Guix. Some will use the default Debian installation media. Some will use the Debian Libre Live images. /Simon
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