[Trisquel-users] How to Install Trisquel 6.0
I need to update to the newest version of Trisquel and I'm not sure how to do it. In the documentation, it showed me how to upload Trisquel 6.0 to a usb so I can launch it from USB, but I would like to replace the version I have on my comp with the updated version. Any help with this is much appreciated.
Re: [Trisquel-users] How to Install Trisquel 6.0
I've attempted to: "To use it edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file on your system and add the line: deb http://jxself.org/repo/freesh/ freesh main You should also fetch and install the GPG key with which the repository is signed, with the commands: wget http://jxself.org/repo/freesh/archive-key.asc sudo apt-key add archive-key.asc " but it won't let me update the sources.list file. I thought I was logged in with root privileges? Is there a way I don't have root access? This is my machine, and I entered my password upon login. . .
Re: [Trisquel-users] How to Install Trisquel 6.0
First, make a backup of anything you don't want to lose, just in case. Then try updating using the update manager. It should allow you to update to 6.0. What version are you now on? lsb_release -a
Re: [Trisquel-users] The BBC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wu8fjNr61Q
Re: [Trisquel-users] How to Install Trisquel 6.0
Trisquel 5.5, brigantia The update manager won't update to the newest version. Is there a setting there that I'm missing? It is the first place I went to update to version 6
[Trisquel-users] How To Reinstall Trisquel GNU/Linux Default Graphical Boot Up Splash Screen
Hello, I'm using Trisquel GNU/Linux 6.0 amd64. I recently installed Debian along side it and naturally Trisquel's Grub was overwritten by Debian's Grub. I wanted to use Trisquel's Grub so I decided to reinstall it using the command below: sudo grub-install /dev/sda Trisquel's Grub is now back, but Trisquel's lovely graphical boot up splash screen has disappeared :-( My question is, how do I go about reinstalling the splash screen? Thanks in advance, Steve
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
"What I'd like to find is hardware that is the most free, clean, known, i.e., known what is inside, whatever...and it needs to be available for purchase, not discontinued." All this is very vague; what is "clean hardware?" or "known hardware?". There are only two points we should be interested in: 1. can the hardware be used with free software? 2. does it contain any malicous features? (vpro etc) Beside of this, the whole discussion reminds me of one thing: I still don't understand why "baked-in proprietary code" is considered as fine by rms; I mean code you can't change without distroying the chip. Can't this code spy on the users as well? What about a baked-in NSA backdoor? If something like this is possible, maybe we should think about the initial goales of the "100% free software pc" project again. Nobody should take such an effort of work for creating a pc which can't even provide privacy.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Another annoying problem with flash
hi, thanks for your help. gnash is set as "start in pause", I'll try to disable it. I've yet installed OpenJDK 7. and with user agent switcher, no changes. I also checked gstreamer, but all needed to play mp3 is installed. I also tried to see if something goes bad with alsa and audio, but I got no problems playing sound and video
Re: [Trisquel-users] How to Install Trisquel 6.0
What sources do you use? If you have the 6.0 on a USB stick, you could of course just install it. Just make sure you choose manual partitioning and choose to NOT format your existing home partition. (Then again, even this won't be a problem since by now you surely have a backup! :)
Re: [Trisquel-users] Linus Torvalds Admits He's Been Asked To Insert Backdoor Into Linux
Well, I already tried commenting here, but my browser was not obbeying me =( Hope this time it works. So, I already had commented here in the forum that when linux grew big enough to "matter", big enough to have many people using it, probably Linus and other people would have been contacted in order to develop ways for those people to still be under control ESPECIALLY making them thinking they were not. Now, some people here say it was a joke. Well, I don't believe it was, but the only way to be sure would be to have had someone asking "okay, did you made any backdoors?" "would you do so if they asked you to?", and even so we would not know what was the truth. I believe it was a risk for Linus to say what he said, because if he is under a gag order, he probably had trouble because he raised suspicion. I don't like people who cooperate with the Govs but if he had no other choice, having said what he said would be a brave act in itself. So, I don't think it was a joke, but I don't know what to make of it... and him. Thanks fernando for the information.
[Trisquel-users] Youtube trying xss attacks?
Hello. I have noticed that for the last few days NoScript has been giving me a warning saying "NoScript filtered a potential cross-site scripting (XSS) attempt from [https://www.youtube.com]. Technical details have been logged to the console." Is anyone noticing the same? It has happened to me in both Tor Browser and regular firefox browser. Could youtube be trying something? Or maybe it's just an error on NoSript?
Re: [Trisquel-users] The BBC
Apologies to those concerned over the way this thread has gone. It was not my intention to start an argument. Time to agree to disagree. Peace and respect to you all.
[Trisquel-users] Anyone here using myKolab.com?
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Hi, I was wondering if anyone here was using myKolab.com as their primary provider for email and collaboration (calendar, address book, calendar, file sharing) tool? I have been using it for close to a month now, with great results. I am actually moving some inmportant email accounts to it. So far technical support has been great and they've even added a few of my initial questions to their FAQ! Fast, easy, and it just works. Thanks for any testimonials, I would love them to succeed and I need more examples of people using it so I can recommend it, specially with Trisquel. Cheers, Fabian - -- Fabián Rodríguez http://fsf.magicfab.ca -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.14 (GNU/Linux) Comment: PGP/Mime available upon request Comment: Using GnuPG with Icedove - http://www.enigmail.net/ iEYEARECAAYFAlI8TdwACgkQfUcTXFrypNW9CACg7L0QhEoUUu10/bZRafFUIIBi 1F0AoLa/5MAwkDdV7Jr6RBS0Srgm6Yta =ydRP -END PGP SIGNATURE-
Re: [Trisquel-users] How to Install Trisquel 6.0
thanks for your reply. So i just plug-in the usb and then follow the prompt to install version 6 on my computer? your help is much appreciated!
Re: [Trisquel-users] Youtube trying xss attacks?
I've gotten that too. I have no idea what it means though.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Linus Torvalds Admits He's Been Asked To Insert Backdoor Into Linux
"if he had no other choice, having said what he said would be a brave act in itself. So, I don't think it was a joke" Knowing how Linus is a person not afraid to say what he really thinks (and, to even "give the finger" to entities he doesn't like), I know him not to be a coward. So, that's why I suspect him to be brave enough to do something like this... ;) And, knowing (from being well informed) how the establishment always tries to recruit the best minds for its side, and also make them "change sides", once they become prominent, only adds to such suspicion.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Linus Torvalds Admits He's Been Asked To Insert Backdoor Into Linux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XierBpLGgwQ
Re: [Trisquel-users] Linus Torvalds Admits He's Been Asked To Insert Backdoor Into Linux
Those who are really in control never "ask" - they merely issue an order through a government agency, or create a law.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Youtube trying xss attacks?
Could be a Google glitch - this article explains: 'Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks: Methodology and Prevention' https://www.golemtechnologies.com/articles/prevent-xss
Re: [Trisquel-users] Fundraising campaign: Privacy Friendly Mail (TLS/OpenGPG/etc) Software
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKZg9n6eosA
[Trisquel-users] Antwort: Youtube trying xss attacks?
Sounds like a false positive to me ! Firefox under Xubuntu also reports this. The corresponding elements have this URL: https://apis.google.com/_/scs/apps-static/_.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
"Whatever the way the free drivers/firmware are obtained, the hardware is then, according to rms, freedom respecting" But, isn't there a (constant) concern, among Free Software adepts, with security and privacy, also? I mean, isn't that something that is implied in the concept of Free Software, itself? (The need for security and privacy, that can only be obtained with free and "open source" software?) If so, you have to take into account the existence of "hardware trojans" that can be possibly embedded into motherboards and microchips. (And, one way to counter that would be the idea of documented/"free" hardware.) I mean, shouldn't we take the concepts inherent to, and that are behind the idea of, Free Software, and apply them also to the hardware? (the following is the concern that I'm talking about:) "'Elbit' flash memory chips, allegedly designed at Kir Yat-Gat south of Tel Aviv. The unique feature of the Elbit chips was that they worked on ambient electricity in a computer. In other words, they worked when the computer was turned off. When combined with another newly developed chip, the 'Petrie,' which was capable of storing up to six months worth of key strokes, it was now possible to burst transmit all of a computer's activity in the middle of the night to a nearby receiver - say in a passing truck or even a low flying SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) satellite." --- http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/pandora/052401_promis.html "CELL PHONE (FBI can listen to you when phone is turned off)": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G1fNjK9SXg
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
>I have the Ben NanoNote in my collection. Is it for sale? ;)
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
I did, but gedit and PGP, and I am sure other applications too, do not even appear in there. But I can see in Synaptic that they are installed and should be available, somewhere.
[Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
I see that there are some applications (like gedit, which opens when I open a text file) that have a GUI, but are not listed under Accessories or any other category of applications. Another example, I see that I have a package installed called "python-gnupginterface", a Python interface to GnuPG (GPG). But I don't see a way to find, open, and work with GPG. 1. So how do I find and open such applications that have GUI, are listed in Synaptic, but are not appearing in Accessories or in the other categories of applications, even when I look in System Settings/Main Menu? 2. And how do I find and open applications that do NOT have GUI? I know it will be somehow through the terminal, but that's as far as I can get... I looked in the online documentation about this, but couldn't find an answer. Thanks.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
Click on the "Start" menu, (Trisquel Logo) then System Settings, then "Main Menu". Check the box next to the programs you want in the menu.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
After you've installed package PACKAGENAME, you can use the following command to find the binaries (executables) it contains dpkg -L PACKAGENAME|grep /bin/ Those might be GUI apps or not. If you omit the grep part (|grep /bin/), you'll see all files in the package. Looks like that python gpg package doesn't contain binaries but comes with a README. Point your favorite text editor to it, or try pointing the less command there. Usually commands (executables) come with a manual page which you can access withman COMMAND (replace PACKAGENAME and COMMAND with actual names)
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
"2. And how do I find and open applications that do NOT have GUI? I know it will be somehow through the terminal, but that's as far as I can get..." You type in the name of the program in the terminal. For example, open the Terminal and type nano to run the GNU nano text editor.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
One question I have about this... (And, I'm not sure if this is what "trisq" meant, when he said, in the first post, "Some of the tablets using such hardware are so powerful that with various docks, a free lap dock notebook, or a free desk top, ought to be possible"?...) Does anyone know how feasible (or easy/simple) it would be (for those who would like to have a powerful system) to build a "cluster" with this type of (lower-capacity) computers?
Re: [Trisquel-users] How to Install Trisquel 6.0
That's right. And at partitioning choose the old root (/) for root and select to format it and choose the old home for home and DON'T format it and the old swap for swap.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Youtube trying xss attacks?
Giorgio's aware of this forums.informaction.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17069
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
How about other applications, like the "Python interface to GnuPG (GPG)"? I typed the name of the package (python-gnupginterface) in the terminal, but that didn't start the application GPG. Typing Abrowser's package name, which is abrowser, starts the browser, but others don't start when I type the package name (e.g., python-gnupginterface, indicator-datetime (supposed to start a simple clock), debianutils (supposed to start Debian utilities), etc.)
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
Click Start - Places - Search for Files - type the item name in the first line - you probably want to look in "File System" folder (second line) - from there you can do what you wish with files
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
I'll try that, but how do I install the PACKAGENAME? I tried by searching for it in Synaptic and in Add/Remove applications, but the search came empty?
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
The thing is--blame it on me being new perhaps--the freedom effect of free software is compromised when proprietary or secret software/firmware controls are lurking inside of hardware. If these features or firmwares were forever frozen in, inside the hardware, and their details were known, free software would be written around it, retaining complete control over the system. Chris, I'm not sure I'd call the interior functions of todays' hardware "traditional". Some may be, but others are a new form of copy protection and potential or actual spying and unauthorized data collection and lockdown mechanisms. Common now, not as before, the inside of many chips and hardware devices are not only closed, but also legally secret, and the innards can be updated/changed but not known to most people including the chip makers. I like what free software represents as it gives me a sense that I am operating in a general, fair, more or less trustable, best honest effort environment. I would also call it "real". Not bloated, not the fanciest, latest anything, just solid good stuff. When I learned about vPro and DASH, my heart sank. Then there are Snowden's claims too, which continue to be supported by evidence that what he said is true. Free software is the best thing going right now if one wants maximum personal control over their computing environment. There is quite a bit of passion in this forum over the possibility of non-free software being inadvertently installed (Debian) because of easy connection to the wrong repository. Many times people have recommended here that if you are choosing to add non-free software, why even bother with something like Trisquel, as the non-free items defeat the whole idea of "free". There are purists here, not that that is a bad thing. In fact I like it. To me, when someone buys non-free hardware instead of free(er) hardware, their freedom is diminished and they ought to realize that and not think that free software alone equals a free-as-in-freedom computing experience. There is an attitude that it is ok, forgivable might be another word, when hardware is not free, because it is mass-produced and the average person can't build it or copy it, whereas with software, it can be written and rewritten and copied (Not by this average person though who isn't a programmer.) And that point of view makes sense in a software focused organization like FSF or maybe Triquel; hardware is another world. I have no urge to convert anyone to my views, it takes too much energy. It is hard enough taking the time to write them down. I'd rather be researching and looking for hardware right now. Finding answers to what quantum gravity has pointed out: 1. can the hardware be used with free software? 2. does it contain any malicous features? (vpro etc) (Thank you quantum. That is what I mean by "known", how much is "known" about it. I would also add finding a source of purchase or supply or production that is so basic and so small that there is virtually no interest in gumming up those basics with extra locks, weaknesses/back doors, controls, etc. just boring basic hardware that can be used as a computing device with free software. That is what I mean by "clean". A source of supply that is not in the mainstream and never will be.) Note there are companies who produce tables and chairs exactly like those from the 1950s. Same methods, etc. Not a big market, but a living for those producers. Believe me, there are people and companies who have what I seek, I just haven't found them yet. Chris you are doing a wonderful thing with ThinkPenguin, it's as close as close can be for offering computers that resemble regular mass market computers, only more special because of their adherence to philosophies of freedom and free software. That's great. But they aren't 100% free. Your WiFi usb is, which is working great for me by the way. I hope you don't think that I don't respect or appreciate your hard work to bring this about. quantum's point #2 above is huge to me, because we can't know for sure what is inside of hardware with features that are secret, but we can do our best with it. Not exactly reverse engineering in my case, but maybe something like hyper-knowledge if there is such a thing. If 1000 hours goes into the study of point #2, I'll know a lot. And once things are known at that level, the little important things, the clues, are easier to recognize and discern. If there isn't interest in this sort of thing, that is ok. I am doing this to satisfy my own desire. Things would perhaps move faster with additional help here and there, but if not, I've got time, and definitely an interest. Others have started projects http://opencores.org/ and have sadly fallen away from updating them as often when conditions change. Note that I am more interested in locating a source than designing or
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
I'm not sure what is happening with this guy, but how do you get to the bottom of this kind of mess? Free hardware and software might have helped if only because potentially one could look deeply inside. http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?s=9eb0179c27cae4ce66ffdc7327006407&t=353112
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
There is a lot of cobbling going on. In videos, people have stuff laying all over connected with wires and are getting certain things to work. Not really a purchasable option at this time though. The AMD link video sort of proves the concept in that a server is being released consisting of multiple small boards. I don't think what they will offer will be "free" as in freedom though. Low power consumption is a driver of using the small boards too. I've noticed a dead project/product from a guy in Germany, I didn't save the link. He created a boxed storage device using tiny laptop drives and a small board that was pretty close to free. Used almost no power compared to the usual options. I think Atrix? phones had these "lapdocks" which look like a notebook computer. Screen, keyboard, etc. there is a way to use these (which are now cheap and discontinued) with a small board as a computer. There are similar things to turn tablets into more of a regular computer. That's what I meant about a near desktop experience. Not sure of freedom issues, probably something won't be quite right. Most likely part by part would need to be selected and hooked together. Harder to find than to do.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
Let me try to express my question a little better (and more accurately): 1. In Add/Remove Applications I can see all installed applications, including these two, for example: "gedit" and "GNOME Desktop Utilities". 2. Neither of these two shows up when I click Start/Accessories, or any other category of applications (Science, Internet, Office, etc.). So I go to System Settings/Main Menu, and try to find them there to check the box in front of them. But they're not listed there, so there is no box to check, like there is with some other applications, so I can't make them appear on the list of applications under Accessories or one of the other categories. 3. So how do I start such applications? I know I can start gedit by opening a text file, but there has to be a simple way to start any of the applications appearing in the Add/Remove Applications list. It would be nice to be able to start them by double-clicking them on the Add/Remove Applications list...
[Trisquel-users] Qsampler has no use
I wanted to work with a .SFZ soundfont type file and read that only a program called LinuxSampler, which has an issue with the backend having a non-commercial restriction, can do it. I saw Qsampler in the repos and thought it might work, but when I installed it, it just said "cannot connect to server". It turns out that it too relies on this LinuxSampler program. If we are not going to have LinuxSampler, there is no point in having Qsampler, which relies on it.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
You want to add a custom launcher to the Alacarte menu (main menu). Click the Trisquel icon in the lower left of the bottom panel. Click System Settings. Click Main Menu. Highlight the list in the left column where you would like to place your new launch icon. Click the + New Item in the right column. Type the name you wish to use. Click the Browse button. If you already searched the files as I explained in the previous commnet above, the program you seek will be listed in the Recently Used items. Find and Click that program. Click Open. That window will close. Click on the icon in the upper left corner. Click the share button on the top row. Scroll until you find your program folder. Open that folder. Click the Logo folder. Select the icon pic. Close everything. Your new program launcher is now available in the start menu.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Youtube trying xss attacks?
On the same subject, I have been unable to stream youtube videos since installing firegloves (an extension that makes your browser appear less unique to prevent fingerprinting based tracking). When trying to play a video, all I get is a "static looking" screen with the NaN in the center. This happens both with html5 and with gnash. As soon as I disable firegloves, the videos play again. Any thoughts?
Re: [Trisquel-users] Where to find and start certain applications
gedit *is* in accessories menu. It is called "Text Editor".
Re: [Trisquel-users] How many people are working on Trisquel? Which libre Linux distro has the most developers?
96 members is a very sad figure :(
Re: [Trisquel-users] Fundraising campaign: Privacy Friendly Mail (TLS/OpenGPG/etc) Software
I guess we're really getting off topic from the original Mailpile post. For the record, I'm not a Marxist, but it does seem to me that anyone interested in political theory and history in particular and in other subjects more broadly would benefit from reading the ideas of Marx and others after him. Regarding the link...why not read the original literature and make up your own mind? Anyway, on to other subjects. Thanks for the discussion.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Another annoying problem with flash
Is there an easy way to toggle gnash? I get tired of going into addons and disabling there. It would be nice to have a little button somewhere on the browser! I wonder if it exists.
Re: [Trisquel-users] How To Reinstall Trisquel GNU/Linux Default Graphical Boot Up Splash Screen
Remove package desktop-base. If that doesn't help, install plymouth-theme-trisquel-logo if it's not already installed.
[Trisquel-users] Ark unar (RARV3) integration not working in Toutatis
Can somebody confirm this? In Dagda, I used Ark as my frontend to extract RARV3 files, primarily multi-part archives. Ark integration for unar does not work anymore in my Toutatis installation, but I can still run unar from the terminal to extract the same files. I'd like to know if there are any workarounds. Thanks!
Re: [Trisquel-users] Ark unar (RARV3) integration not working in Toutatis
I didn't think there were any GUI methods for unar. I've always used the terminal so nothing has changed for me. :)
Re: [Trisquel-users] how to install ath9k-htc-firmware for Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271
I'm running the updated version of Trisquel 6!
Re: [Trisquel-users] Another annoying problem with flash
Try Flashblock. http://trisquel.info/en/browser/addons/flashblock
[Trisquel-users] how to install ath9k-htc-firmware for Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271
To Whom It May Concern, I downloaded the firmware update from http://jxself.org/ath9k-htc/ so that I could use my Atheros ThinkPenguin usb wireless adapter. The thing is, in the README, it says that I have to "build the toolchain" : * Linux: $ make toolchain * FreeBSD: $ gmake toolchain (Yes, I made this work on FreeBSD as well.) * Next, build the firmware. * Linux: $ make firmware * FreeBSD: edit the build script, change make to gmake, and then $ ./build You will end up with two .fw files - one for the AR7010 and one for the AR9271 in the target_firmware directory. Then what? -- You need to then copy this into the relevant location for your operating system. Yes, this means you need a driver. No, there's no FreeBSD driver yet for this particular chipset, sorry." So, I'm not sure what to do and your help is much appreciated!
[Trisquel-users] Connecting to the internet wirelessly (version 6) -- no prompt
I recently updated to Trisquel 6 and before I was running 5.5 On my previous version, I could connect to my wireless network simply by selecting it from a window that showed me the available networks. Now, on version 6, there is no such window, and I can't see my network or connect to it. Do I have to install a program in order to see my networks and connect to them? I know I could go through the process of setting up the wireless connection manually, but it seems as though there must be a better option. thank you for your help!
Re: [Trisquel-users] Another annoying problem with flash
There's an extension called Flash OnOff that gives you a button.[0] The Mozilla addons database doesn't tell you what license it's under, but I investigated and it's under the MPL 2.0. [0] https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/downloads/latest/388711/addon-388711-latest.xpi
Re: [Trisquel-users] Another annoying problem with flash
Could you add it to the Abrowser addon repo? http://trisquel.info/en/browser/addons
Re: [Trisquel-users] Connecting to the internet wirelessly (version 6) -- no prompt
Network Manager?
Re: [Trisquel-users] how to install ath9k-htc-firmware for Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271
After you do make toolchain and make firmware the two .fw files go into /lib/firmware
Re: [Trisquel-users] How many people are working on Trisquel? Which libre Linux distro has the most developers?
It's been an ongoing discussion. We were shooting for 100 members I think. Hearing that it is up to 96 is actually encouraging.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
No, Although I'll make you even more jealous :) . It's signed by RMS himself.
Re: [Trisquel-users] how to install ath9k-htc-firmware for Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271
how do I make toolchain and make firmware please?
Re: [Trisquel-users] Connecting to the internet wirelessly (version 6) -- no prompt
i have Wicd Network Manager and Wifi Radar, but it says that no wireless networks found. perhaps I need to configure my internal wireless card?
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
So, first, I can attest to the fact a whole computer will definitely require multiple companies and people to participate. 1. You need somebody working on a distribution, like Rubén 2. You'll probably need somebody to reverse engineer something (like video drivers) 3. You'll need somebody to design something (be it at the board level and/or a complete system level) 4. You'll need to get the cooperation of people within companies 5. You'll need to get a factory somewhere to produce it 6. You'll need companies to distribute it 7. You'll need companies to support it 8. etc Just to get the ath9k firmware free'd and supported it took at least a dozen people. Many of them played a major part. The point was only that there are many people which need to participate in the proccess before any kind of product will get into your hands. A computer contains many parts/chipsets and getting them all free'd is going to be a lot of work. The privacy issue is separate from the free software issue. While you can hide stuff in non-free firmware more easily there is also the possibility of hiding it in hardware. It's better for the firmware to be free though as it does make it a bit more difficult to hide something malicious though. Nobody who understands whats happening with hardware is going to argue traditional functions aren't being moved to firmware. It's been happening near 20 years now (1990s). In the early days these devices would eat up to 1/3 of a users system resources. The goal was definitely to cut costs and not to add DRM or other privacy invasive features. There was a significant savings back then to move to firmware based designs. Now they are doing it to reduce time to release (results in shipping buggy and incomplete products), cut costs (you can see its even further as the flash is no longer included on the boards even in many cases, it's just uploaded to the memory on insertion or system boot), etc. I didn't say that the inerts of todays PCs aren't providing additional functionality either. Only that traditional functions done in hardware are being moved to firmware.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Linus Torvalds Admits He's Been Asked To Insert Backdoor Into Linux
I don't think anybody was suggesting he was never confronted. Only that he was making a joke. If he said 'no', how could we trust him? You have to presume he is under the influence of the NSA and other government organizations.
Re: [Trisquel-users] How many people are working on Trisquel? Which libre Linux distro has the most developers?
One problem that most distros saddle their users with is not being very helpful with hardware. The big source distros, for want of a better phrase, should know, from user generated feedback, which hardware will work 'out of the box', which needs non-free extras and which isn't going to work at all. Thus, when a new user is installing a distro, a message should up along the lines of "congratulations, all your hardware will work without non-free software, this is something to be pleased about" with a file on the desktop on first boot explaining more, or "not all your hardware will work on first boot, you'll need to either enable the following source for drivers or read the text file on the desktop which will contain further instructions", or best of all "the following hardware will not work on first boot, if you are relying on this hardware for connectivity or on being able to see the desktop, then you need to do the following...". (There's nothing more frustrating than being able to see the screen whilst the installer is running, only to be presented with a black screen on first boot). As it stands now, hordes of new users clog forums with the same questions "my mate told me this Linux thing was awesome but I have no sound/wireless/a black screen on every boot, how come?" Easily avoidable and avoidable in a way that would drive home the message far more effectively than leaving people to either find out for themselves or to run the risk of a verbal mauling at the hands of a free software zealot. (We all know the type - politically perfect but socially abrasive, they do no one's movement any favours). Having spent the last couple or three weeks exploring the various FSF recommended distros, and with 11 years use of Gnu/Linux under my belt, I can say with some certainty that Trisquel is a mighty fine piece of work. Whether it be the work of 1 man, 100 men or 100,000.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Qsampler has no use
I filed a bug for you https://trisquel.info/en/issues/10116
Re: [Trisquel-users] how to install ath9k-htc-firmware for Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271
Those are the commands you type into the terminal: * First expand the tarball. * Then "cd" into the directory. * Type "make toolchain" and press return. * Type "make firmware" and press return. * Once this is done you'll have two .fw files - place them into /lib/firmware. Or, you know what might be even easier? Just download the two .fw files from http://www.jxself.org/ath9k-htc/version-1.3.2/ and place them in /lib/firmware.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Some current free software friendly hardware
"Beside of this, the whole discussion reminds me of one thing: I still don't understand why "baked-in proprietary code" is considered as fine by rms" Actually that's not true. rms does ackgowledge the issue with malicious circuitry: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.html "The phone network firmware comes preinstalled. If all it did was sit there and talk to the phone network when you wish, we could regard it as equivalent to a circuit. When we insist that the software in a computing device must be free, we can overlook preinstalled firmware that will never be upgraded, because it makes no difference to the user that it's a program rather than a circuit. Unfortunately, in this case it would be a malicious circuit. Malicious features are unacceptable no matter how they are implemented." and "Putting these points together, we can tolerate nonfree phone network firmware provided new versions of it won't be loaded, it can't take control of the main computer, and it can only communicate when and as the free operating system chooses to let it communicate. In other words, it has to be equivalent to circuitry, and that circuitry must not be malicious."
