[Mageia-dev] Non-free firmwares in installer

Fri Mar 25 09:23:56 CET 2011

+----- "andre999" <andr55 at laposte.net> wrote:
+
+> Wolfgang Bornath a écrit :
+> >
+> > 2011/3/24 Olivier Blin<mageia at blino.org>:
+> >> Thorsten van Lil<tvl83 at gmx.de>  writes:
+> >>
+> >>> Am 24.03.2011 09:57, schrieb Wolfgang Bornath:
+> >>>> 2011/3/24 Ahmad Samir<ahmadsamir3891 at gmail.com>:
+> >>>>> On 24 March 2011 02:58, Dexter Morgan<dmorganec at gmail.com>   
+> wrote:
+> >>>>>> On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 1:38 AM, Ahmad
+> Samir<ahmadsamir3891 at gmail.com>    wrote:
+> >>>>>>>
+> >>>>>>> Has the Free DVD in Mandriva ever contained non-free
+> firmware?
+> >>>>>>
+> >>>>>> No, but the question is more , will we provide a "non free" dvd
+> iso,
+> >>>>>> and this question is i think interesting.
+> >>>>>>
+> >>>> A possible solution for people with such a setup could be a
+> non-free
+> >>>> "driver cd ISO" which they could include in the installation
+> process.
+> >>>>
+> >>>
+> >>> What about a DVD including non-free packages but has the option to
+> not
+> >>> install them?
+> >>> I think the majority of the users don't care that much about
+> >>> proprietary issues, they just need them for using there wireless
+> card
+> >>> or graphic card. Those how do care can just uncheck the non-free
+> part
+> >>> of the DVD. :)
+> >>
+> >> Yep, it could just be an option. The desktop selection step seems
+> to be a
+> >> good place in the installer to include it, it is visible enough,
+> and
+> >> right before packages installation. Though it would have to be
+> renamed.
+> >>
+> >> We could have a checkbox "Install proprietary drivers if needed
+> >> (non-free software)", ticked by default.
+> 
+> perfect solution :)
+
+Maybe for you. Maybe for me. But, the *real* question is, would this discourage some of our target market from using our distribution.
+
+IOW, we *must* get community input (after documenting some proposals).
+
+> > Are you aware that this would mean that Mageia is not a "free
+> > distribution" as planned? No matter how you phrase the question and
+> > how many checkboxes a user would have to check, if non-free
+> contents
+> > is included in an ISO it is not a free ISO anymore.
+> 
+> Mageia the distribution includes non-free software.  We are talking 
+> about what we include on the ISO.
+> If users want to exclude installing any non-free packages, this 
+> check-box solution solves the problem nicely.
+
+Depends on what guidelines you follow. E.g., some might say there shouldn't be a checkbox at all. Some might say the checkbox should be disabled by default. Some might say that there should be no non-free software on the default media.
+
+> So users that want to ensure that their installation works "out of the
+> 
+> box" will be satisfied.
+> And purists that don't mind some things not working, can avoid 
+> installing non-free drivers.
+
+"Can avoid" and "guaranteed to never occur" are not the same, and some users may want the latter.
+
+> Sounds like a win-win solution to me :)
+
+But, again, this is subjective, you are presenting your preference, and yours may not be the only one we should cater to.
+
+Regards,
+Buchan
+