DesktopLinux
Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  Blogs  |  Videos  |  Resource Library

Keywords: Match:
Debian permits binary blobs
Jan. 12, 2009

The Debian project has voted to allow the use of binary blobs in the upcoming release of Debian 5, codenamed Lenny, says a news story. The decision is said to have followed a contentious debate over the issue, with open-source purists arguing against the move.

(Click for larger view of "Lenny," captured from Pixar Animation's Toy Story trailer)

With the binary issue settled, the long-delayed Lenny appears to be nearing a release date. Lenny's launch was originally scheduled for September, but may have been held up in part by a need for more embedded involvement. The binary debate, meanwhile, seems to have added another month or two to the process. Assuming that Lenny ships this month, it will match the 21-month gestation period for the prior Debian 4.0 ("Etch") release.

The Debian community, which has largely maintained a strict interpretation of the free software principles of open source licensing, has voted to "assume blobs comply with the GPL unless proven otherwise," says a report by Ryan Paul in Ars Technica. Although, Debian-based devices often include proprietary firmware such as binary blobs, Debian purists want to draw a clear line by prohibiting the inclusion of binary firmware stored in the kernel that are loaded into hardware at runtime.

In the debate leading up to the vote, critics argued that tolerating binary firmware represented a deviation from free software guidelines, as well as the principles behind Debian's social contract, writes Paul. Some argued that Debian secretary Manoj Srivastava mismanaged the vote, and in the resulting brouhaha, Srivastava has since resigned. The debate elicited several eloquent pleas on both sides, including this pro-acceptance blog from Linux Foundation CTO Ted T'so, who argued that Debian has suffered from a fundamentalist adherence to open-source ideals.

In the end, the decision to accept the binaries seemed to have derived less from ideology than it did from the practical issue of releasing Lenny in a (more) timely fashion. Had the community voted to remove the offending binaries, further delays would be unavoidable, as the binaries have already worked their way into the distribution.

The accepted proposal, found here, states, "We give priority to the timely release of Lenny over sorting every bit out; for this reason, we will treat removal of sourceless firmware as a best-effort process, and deliver firmware as part of Debian Lenny as long as we are legally allowed to do so."

The accepted Debian proposal concerning binary blobs, should be should be here, and the Ars Technica report "Debian 5 release approaches... binary blobs included," should be here. More information on the Debian 5 release may be found in our earlier coverage.


-- Eric Brown


Do you have comments on this story?


Talkback here

NOTE: Please post your comments regarding our articles using the above link. Be sure to use this article's title as the "Subject" in your posts. Before you create a new thread, please check to see if a discussion thread is already running on the article you plan to comment on. Thanks!



Related Stories:


(Click here for further information)


Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.

Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.

Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.

Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.

Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.

Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.

Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.

SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.

Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.

Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.

 



Got a HOT tip?   please tell us!

ADVERTISEMENT
(Advertise here)

Resource Library

• Unix, Linux Uptime and Reliability Increase: Patch Management Woes Plague Windows Yankee Group survey finds IBM AIX Unix is highest in ...
• Scalable, Fault-Tolerant NAS for Oracle - The Next Generation For several years NAS has been evolving as a storage ...
• Managing Software Intellectual Property in an Open Source World This whitepaper draws on the experiences of the Black Duck ...
• Open Source Security Myths Dispelled Is it risky to trust mission-critical infrastructure to open source ...
• Bringing IT Operations Management to Open Source & Beyond Download this IDC analyst report to learn how open source ...


Popular recent stories:
• Linux an equal Flash player
• Linux, netbooks threaten Microsoft's fat profits
• gOS 3.0 goes gold
• Browser swallows OS
• Lenovo denies ditching Linux
• Lightweight, Linux-compatible browser evolves
• GNOME 2.24 gains "Empathy" IM
• Review: Pardus Linux
• Ubuntu to fund Linux development
• Ubuntu "Intrepid Ibex" available

All-time Classics:
• Choosing a desktop Linux distro
• Banshee -- the next best thing to Linux iTunes
• Running World of Warcraft on Ubuntu
• A simple Linux backup method
• The Best Free Desktop Linux . . . and how to make it better
• Linux-powered Asus Eee PC mini-laptop arrives
• The well-tempered Debian desktop
• Lenovo launches a netbook
• What's the best Linux for beginners?
• Getting to know Puppy Linux
• Xandros 4: The best desktop Linux for Windows users
• VirtualBox: The best virtualization program you've never heard of

Linux-Watch headlines:
• Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru
• OpenSource World announces keynote speakers
• Linux 2.6.30 gets new filesystems
• Intel to buy Wind River for $884 million
• Apple sued for squelching wiki chat
• Microsoft's TomTom patents posted for patent review
• Europe tops global open source survey
• Oracle buys Sun -- may jettison MySQL
• Sun virtualization technology adds VM exports
• Is Linux ready to go to FAT camp?


Join our Desktop Linux discussion forums:
•  Moving to Linux
•  Linux/Windows debate!
•  Linux Q&A
. . . and more
Visit the...


BREAKING NEWS

• Can FAT patch avoid Microsoft lawsuits?
• Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru
• LiveUSB version of OLPC software targets netbooks
• Virtualization software goes multi-processor
• Open source show gears up with 200 sessions
• Office suite released in netbook version
• Scalix gains mobile device synchronization
• OpenSource World announces keynote speakers
• Ubuntu added to online preview site
• Linux 2.6.30 gets new filesystems
• Fedora 11 ships with new community portal
• More Linux distros tap Moblin for netbooks
• Media playback technology targets Linux netbooks
• Virtual Linux desktops tapped by UN
• Linux on tap in netbook, nettop



Linux Netbooks


Linux smartphones!


news feed

Or, follow us on Twitter...


Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  About  |  Contact
 

Ziff Davis Enterprise Home | Contact Us | Advertise | Link to Us | Reprints | Magazine Subscriptions | Newsletters
Tech RSS Feeds | White Papers | ROI Calculators | Tech Podcasts | Tech Video | VARs | Channel News

Baseline | Careers | Channel Insider | CIO Insight | DesktopLinux | DeviceForge | DevSource | eSeminars |
eWEEK | Enterprise Network Security | LinuxDevices | Linux Watch | Microsoft Watch | Mid-market | Networking | PDF Zone |
Publish | Security IT Hub | Strategic Partner | Web Buyer's Guide | Windows for Devices

Developer Shed | Dev Shed | ASP Free | Dev Articles | Dev Hardware | SEO Chat | Tutorialized | Scripts |
Code Walkers | Web Hosters | Dev Mechanic | Dev Archives | igrep

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Except where otherwise specified, the contents of this site are copyright © 1999-2009 Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Enterprise is prohibited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.