On 01/-10/-28163 02:59 PM, Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. wrote:
And I claim he would be better off using a card that doesn't use firmware[1]
or uses free firmware, since non-free firmware is an issue for distributors
and it's relatively easy to "accidentally" participate in distributing
software in violation of its license.
That's an interesting sticking point. In reality, the probability of my
accidental participation in distribution of the software is probably
pretty low, but I can certainly see the principle involved.
I wouldn't want to be stuck without non-free available, but I recommend making
hardware purchases that allow you to avoid non-free as much as possible. I'm
gradually moving that way myself. (Desktop and laptop each need one driver
from non-free.)
That is most certainly my aim.
Once you've got the hardware, you might as well use it, even if it requires
non-free drivers. The manufacturer has already got their cut of what you
paid; you are hurting none but yourself by not using it. You should try and
avoid becoming dependent on that hardware, since that makes you dependent on
non-free software.
And, if I were stuck in a situation where I really, really needed to use
(for instance) proprietary drivers so that I could use the 3D
acceleration capabilities of the nvidia cards, or if I needed to use the
wireless cards that require proprietary firmware, I'd do so -- though it
would irk me a little bit, perhaps enough to goad me on into getting new
hardware.
It's not a religion, but the ideas are important to me. And, as I said,
I'm also just genuinely interested in seeing how well I can do without
the proprietary bits. The resolve is made all the stronger by my
experiences in industry where I see what I think are some pretty unwise
decisions being made by companies who are often unwittingly tying their
fortunes irrevocably to the whims (business models, I think they call
them) of other companies -- companies whose interests might (and do) run
in a counter direction.
The industries I've worked in might not have had very many choices (at
least without incurring huge development costs) when making their
hardware / software decisions. But, as an individual, I can do what I
danged well please -- even if others may think that it looks like I'm
just cutting off my nose to spite my face.
;)
[1] "Firmware" here is specifically limited to executable data transmitted to
the device from a host operating system, and does not include executable data
loaded from an EEPROM (or similar) that is provided with the device.
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