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Should the Linux Desktop Be "Pure?"
jammag writes "According to Matt Hartley, many Linux desktop users don't like to admit that there's scads of closed source code commonly used with the Linux desktop. Hartley points to examples like proprietary drivers, the popularity of Skype among Linux users (in preference to the open source Ekiga), and the use of Wine. He concludes that, hey, if the code works, use it — a stance that won't sit well with purists. But his article raises the question: is it better to embrace some closed source fixes, and so create a larger user base, or to remain pure, and keep Linux for the specialists?"
I've noticed a lot of Linux people talking about Freedom in software while running proprietary stuff. This is pure B.S. Do what you feel is right and what works for you, but don't lie to yourself and others. If you're going to accept BLOBs and other proprietary software that's fine, but quit talking about how Linux is opening everything up. If you're going to talk about Freedom, then quit using all the closed source stuff and live by your words.
Except in some cases the proprietary software is sometimes the only/best choice, where as slavery always has better choices.
Sometimes its not slavery, but acceptance that closed source programs are a better choice. You can't obtain proprietary material when the budget for development is close to nill
Linux communities don't have the resources that Google or Skype have. It would be hard to have something like Googleearth. Open Source developers can might find it hard to obtain and compile satellite images of the planet and have a high bandwidth servers to stream the data on demand.
Face your daemons!
If your cheap laptop came with a crappy Broadcom card, then spend $40 on a USB dongle or pcmcia card with an open source friendly chipset.
That shouldn't be necessary. I should be able to get drivers for whatever card I want. I don't expect Linux to ship with them, of course, but if they really want to win people over, they need to recognize this as a crucial thing to do to make the transition easy for people.
Of course a retail box that actually lists the chipset in the specs is a rare find - but that is just another aspect of how proprietary software takes away your freedom.
What. The. FUCK!?!? This is so blatantly false it's not even funny. Explain to me, if you can, how a manufacturer's lack of complete information on their packaging has ANYTHING IN THE WORLD to do with open vs closed software? I'm sure I'll be waiting for that explanation for a long time, because THE TWO AREN'T RELATED! For the love of fdisk, wake up and realize that not everything is about closed vs open software. I suppose next you'll be saying that corrupt politicians are "another aspect of how proprietary software takes away your freedom", eh?
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
It always comes around to this eventually. Activities for which there are no good free software solutions are stupid and only an idiot would want to do them. It's the GNU equivalent of Godwin's Law.
...wearing a skin-tight topless leather jumpsuit, with cutaway buttocks and transparent crotch panel.