FSF-Sponsored gNewSense 2.1 Released 413
An anonymous reader writes "gNewSense, the fully-free GNU/Linux distribution sponsored by the FSF, has released a 2.1 live CD (torrent). Since the last release, more non-free binary blobs have been removed, new artwork has been added and lots of other improvements have been made. It's also two years since the first edition of gNewSense, and in that time an impressive ten live CDs have been released! gNewSense 2.1 DeltaH is based on Ubuntu Hardy, and removes non-free software that other distributions don't." I wonder if gNewSense can be easily installed on an OLPC XO the way several other distros can.
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:5, Informative)
A lot of wireless cards require non-free firmware, but not all do.
Graphics work well, but the very latest cards don't have 3d, neither do the nVidia cards.
Certainly any laptop with Atheros wireless, Intel graphics and sound is going to work nicely.
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:5, Informative)
You're missing the point in having a free (as in freedom) operating system. This is not about "getting hardware support at any costs" but "having a free os". Of course some hardware won't work with GNewSense. But this way, the distro supports hardware manufacturers who release their drivers under a free license (because their user don't have any problems!).
It is a question of what is more important to you: 100% hardware support or freedom.
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:3, Informative)
The graphics will work, but you have no GLX. (So no hardware acceleration for a start).
I use Gnewsense (Score:2, Informative)
I use Gnewsense as my home desktop. I have been happy with it. Really it is just Ubuntu with the binary blobs ripped out. When I have a problem with something, I search the web for with the error message and Ubuntu instead of Gnewsense, since there are more Ubuntu users.
Re:OK, I'm assuming the play on words is intention (Score:5, Informative)
Who is this supposed to be a nuisance to?
It's a reference to RMS (or his PGP^H^H^HGPG key):
"The name originated as Gnusiance as a reference to RMS's GPG key, but was later changed to gNewSense by bbrazil and ompaul to also capture the New Sense of the distribution and as a pun on GNU."
http://www.gnewsense.org/index.php?n=FAQ.FAQ#toc4 [gnewsense.org]
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:4, Informative)
No, this distro contains code covered by a variety of licenses, not just the GPL.
And RMS doesn't say anything about BSD being non-free, but rather just that copyleft is his way to ensure that everyone receiving a copy of the GPL licensed software has the same opportunities as the person or company distributing it.
Re:good start (Score:4, Informative)
Given his strong opinion on the topic of non-Free software, I can't really understand this sentence: "Since the last release, more non-free binary blobs have been removed, ....". Does that mean GNewSense included and still includes non-Free blob's?
We keep finding more of them in odd places.
See http://bugs.gnewsense.org/Bugs/00164 [gnewsense.org] for the background to that particular sentence. In Hardy, some non-free blobs moved from the kernel to a package we'd never heard about before. Once this was reported, they were removed within 5 hours.
I'm not currently aware of any non-free blobs in gNewSense. To ensure it stays that way, some time ago we kicked off an exhaustive check of the Kernel, which has already gone through all the "hotspots". We also did a check of all of 'main' for 1.1.
Re:What hardware does this support? (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw [fsf.org]
Knowing which hardware devices support GNU/Linux is important not only for practical reasons---you want your hardware to work with the software that you want to use---but also for ethical and political reasons. You can help the free software movement by purchasing hardware from manufacturers who support our goals and not purchasing from those who don't.
Re:Really Free, or Really Really Free? (Score:2, Informative)
Remember, this is the Free Software Foundation, which doesn't do anything non-ideological.
This is a common misconception - gNewSense is not and has never been run by the FSF. They approached us after our first release. Since then, they have provided us with hardware and helped out here and there. We're obviously on very friendly terms and help them out where we can, but they don't run the show.
Re:I don't like it (Score:3, Informative)
No matter what the people from the FSF will tell you, GNewSense is not meant for the average person.
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:4, Informative)
That's the specific distributions, not the license itself.
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:5, Informative)
Your really out of date. The latest ATI drivers are actually very good.
Now one or two years ago what you are saying is true but not now.
Re:questions (Score:1, Informative)
Both rt2500 and rt61 works with kernel 2.6.24 and up
I think you need a binary firmware for rt61 tough.
I tried rt2500 and it worked just like any other linux driver (it should even display your gnome things by default)
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:3, Informative)
(Replace "Ubuntu" with "Windows" and "gNewSense" with "Linux" for a parallel argument.)
You'd also have to replace "3D acceleration" with something else. After all, this isn't just about convenience; it's not any specific driver so much as GLX itself that makes this impossible.
Re:OK, I'm assuming the play on words is intention (Score:4, Informative)
on the MIT public keyserver
sig 135EA668 Richard Stallman (Chief GNUisance)
http://pgpkeys.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=vindex&search=0x894A158D [mit.edu]
Not really a completely free distro (Score:3, Informative)
Re: Debian 100% free (Score:3, Informative)
While Debian (main) is 100% free, there are considered-useful packages that are very commonly distributed with Debian that are non-free.
http://nonfree.alioth.debian.org/ [debian.org]
http://www.debian.org/social_contract [debian.org]
"We will support people who create or use both free and non-free works on Debian. We will never make the system require the use of a non-free component.... We acknowledge that some of our users require the use of works that do not conform to the Debian Free Software Guidelines. We have created "contrib" and "non-free" areas in our archive for these works. The packages in these areas are not part of the Debian system, although they have been configured for use with Debian."
The reason the FSF (and RMS) won't promote Debian is because of the non-free components that are in the most common standard installations of Debian.
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:3, Informative)
I run gNewSense 2.0 on a Thinkpad X61. Video (Intel GM965) is accelerated in 2D but don't expect any 3D since GLX is non-free [gnewsense.org]. The buit-in Atheros (5424) works with open access points if I build the latest wireless compat release but I've had no luck with WEP and WPA. I use a Zydas USB dongle which works fine but won't come back from suspend. Otherwise, everything I can think of is fully functional.
Re:OK, I'm assuming the play on words is intention (Score:3, Informative)
Aparently they don't know about gobuntu , wich is exactly the same as they are doing , namely a completely free distro.
Granted , maybe gNewSense existed before Gobuntu.
I'll check the date stamps
Re:OK, I'm assuming the play on words is intention (Score:4, Informative)
Actually Gnubuntu existed first (November 2005), but nothing more than an IRC channel and some artwork came of it. We started talking about gNewSense in May 2006 as a way to make Gnubuntu happen, with the first release 2 years ago today (August 25th 2006).
A quick check indicates that Gobuntu was first released July 10th 2007.
See https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2005-November/013261.html [ubuntu.com] http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/130 [markshuttleworth.com]
Re:OK, I'm assuming the play on words is intention (Score:2, Informative)
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:3, Informative)
Who is the entity that enjoys this "freedom" that the GPL provides?
The end user who receives the software.
You've never heard the phrase "code wants to be free" in the context of the GPL?
Lol! The phrase you are reaching for is "information wants to be free" and no it is not regularly used in the context of the GPL.
Re:It's not made for people who would care. (Score:4, Informative)
You've probably never seen Pulp Fiction:
"Bring out The Gimp" [youtube.com]
This movie was quite popular with the college crowd. I was in college myself when I saw it. The GIMP, written by a couple of college students, came out soon [gimp.org] afterwards.
Re:How usable is it though? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:OK, I'm assuming the play on words is intention (Score:1, Informative)
The TCP/IP stack in Windows, and the core kernel of OSX (named Darwin) are both taken from BSD code, and now made closed and proprietary. People in general are not free to enjoy whatever improvements were made to the base code.
IBM invented the SMB protocol and released it under a liberal license, only to see Microsoft subsequently adopt it, obscure it and then proceed to charge people in general a fortune for it (via CALs).
GPL software, and other copyleft licenses, guarantee that the code will remain free, and not become usurped by proprietary interests. Copyleft ensure that rip-offs of code such as these examples and the charging of people for others' original work cannot happen.
Re:It's not made for people who would care. (Score:3, Informative)
You don't have to waste too much time. Simply say it stands for Generic Image Manipulation Program and it allows you to create or manipulate images.
Who cares what it really stands for, I don't even know how far I am off. They made it a bitch, so I just improvise. and it seems to work well too.