[NCLUG] Re: Ubuntu sound problems--Installfest question

[Chad Perrin]

On Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 01:23:43PM -0600, Brian Wood wrote:
> 
> On Apr 10, 2008, at 12:57 PM, Bob Proulx wrote:
> > But in general everyone who is running
> >GNU/Linux is running a very similar Linux kernel and I wouldn't
> >consider it a good reason to choose one distro over another.  Within
> >the set of free drivers for supported hardware.  And I advocate not
> >using the non-free drivers and I am willing to buy hardware
> >specifically with free driver support in mind.
> >
> >In summary, it is all the same if you are using free drivers and if
> >you are not then you should.
> 
> That's certainly a good attitude, but it's often not possible. Try  
> getting decent 3D video acceleration using only the free video drivers  
> for example.
> 
> I've heard rumblings of the kernel refusing to load non-free drivers  
> in the future, which seems to me to go against the "freedom of choice"  
> concept in Linux. If I choose to use nVidia's proprietary video driver  
> I should not be penalized, and if I decide to purchase a commercial X  
> server in order to get a laptop's display working properly I should be  
> able to do that.

I think Linux is more wedded to "free software" than "freedom of choice",
else it wouldn't be using the GPL (which prevents statically linking some
software, et cetera).  As such, while I'd be a little surprised if the
official Linux kernel actually "refused" to load non-free drivers (as
opposed to modified kernels provided by more FSF-friendly distros), I
wouldn't be at all surprised at Linux users and developers talking about
it.  I guess it might happen after Linus Torvalds dies, retires,
whatever, though.


> 
> Different distros seem to have differing attitudes towards even free  
> software that  might be of questionable legality in some  
> jurisdictions. MP3 code and the decss DVD decrypter are good examples.  
> The attitude of the distro makers probably reflects their country of  
> origin to an extent, nobody wants to get sued even if they feel they  
> are morally in the right.
> 
> I'll use free drivers if they suit my needs, but I certainly have no  
> problem with purchasing or using commercial software if it does what I  
> need it to do for a reasonable price (note: no Microsoft product falls  
> into that category).

While I do use closed source software from time to time, when necessary,
my preference is to avoid it -- in part for security reasons.  In that
respect, I have opinions similar to Theo de Raadt's (though I disagree
with him on certain other subjects).


> 
> The different distros all seem to have different target audiences, and  
> a major difference is what packaging scheme they have chosen. Ubuntu,  
> at least initially, appealed to folks moving from Windows, CentOS to  
> people wanting stability and security, Sabayon to people hooked on eye  
> candy, Gentoo to do-it-yourselfers and FC appealing to chronic  
> upgraders :-)

I think Fedora may have mostly just inherited Red Hat users, initially.
Whether "chronic upgraders" are the main source of new recruits is
something about which I wouldn't speculate with any seriousness at this
point.  I do like it more than many other distributions, but it's not my
favorite.  I don't even think it's in my top five.

-- 
CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
Ben Franklin: "As we enjoy great Advantages from the Inventions of others
we should be glad of an Opportunity to serve others by any Invention of
ours, and this we should do freely and generously."
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