When it comes to non-free firmware I think there's two reasonable positions - treat it like non-free code running on a remote system (suboptimal, outside the scope of current free software priorities) or treat it like software running on the primary CPU (all code on the local system should be free software, no matter where it's running). I think the FSF's position is unreasonable: mjg59.dreamwidth.org/70895.htm…
https://nondeterministic.computer/@mjg59/113640680123221885
https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/70895.html
@mjg59 I think they should go harder and declare drivers to be uncopyrightable too :3
@mjg59 I don't have the link handy but I've written about this before, and IMO whether the software being nonfree matters depends on its role, privilege, and what information it […]
@mjg59 This rather reflects their software positions with the FSF and GNU, they gain and keep control over projects to keep them "safe" by removing options. Having a project become a part of […]
@mjg59 I don't think it's always the best strategy to "demand" things. I always *want* open-source firmware, and I want this to work for everyone involved. Intellectual property won't hold up […]
@mjg59 Fun anecdote: A friend of mine once tried to get a certain piece of open hardware RYF-certified. At the time Linux would run on the hardware, without free GPU acceleration. The shipping […]
@mjg59 Such a comprehensive and nicely worded explanation why the only thing worse than having proprietary firmware on your system is to have known broken proprietary firmware on your system 🤭
@mjg59 I remember reading similar things from @marcan.
@mjg59
> users would benefit from most (if not all) firmware being free software
[…]
@mjg59 The FSF position of non-free devices needing to be self-sufficient and self-contained is also antiquated. Modern design practice is that you can lower cost, and remove the need for […]
@mjg59 Since you bring up microcode as canonical example: I hypothesized in patrick.georgi-clan.de/posts/o… that the cut-off point for on-ROM microcode is quite arbitrary and definitely before […]
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