Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Wait... why does Linux-libre (and #Freedo) exist? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Is Linux not free software itself? I thought propietary stuff was added downstream.

Am I getting something wrong?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Depending on the vendor providing that trackpad driver it may not be a substantial security risk. But it is a loss of software freedom, which some people care about.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Yeah, sure, but if the largest companies in the world trust the vendor that proprietary firmware why would I not trust it?

I agree with your POV, in theory yes, having stuff you can't inspect it's a risk, in practice there are a few more nuances to that. It's not reasonable to want to have a 100% open-source computer from the software to use down to the AVRs/PICs that run low level functions.