The linux-libre project[1] was started to remove nonfree code from the linux kernel. I'm wondering why it was allowed in in the first place. Linux is licensed under the GPL, and the FSF and Linus have both stated that kernel modules are a derivative work, and therefore must be GPL'ed.[2] The matter of whether the GPL is actually legally enforceable in this situation apparently has not been settled, but the intent of the license is clear[3] and therefore distributing nonfree linux modules is, if nothing else, immoral.
This looks to me like a symptom of the departure from the Free Software movement in favor of Open Source. Are the short term practical benefits of accepting nonfree code really worth the loss of freedoms that entails? Unfortunately, the difference between a completely free system (consider gNewSense[4] or Blag[5]) and one of looser standards is quite noticable in some respects. OpenGL support (I think both accelerated and software rendering) depend on nonfree code[6], for example. [1] http://www.blagblagblag.org/linux-libre/ [2] http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Module-HOWTO/copyright.html [3] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-not-lgpl.html [4] http://www.gnewsense.org [5] http://www.blagblagblag.org [6] https://bugs.launchpad.net/debian/+bug/6765 -- Martin Franco <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> OpenPGP Key ID: 2B01DD81 Keyserver: pgpkeys.mit.edu -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
