[Mageia-dev] Non-free firmwares in installer

[Wolfgang Bornath]

2011/3/24 Romain d'Alverny <rdalverny at gmail.com>:
>
> Well, that's precisely debatable (and why I'll try to setup a relevant
> survey through marcom). The ISO can be seen as a static commodity
> storage; that it holds core and nonfree makes no such difference as
> that those two media are available from the network without
> discrimination.
>
> So yes, the ISO in itself would not be free anymore; but as long as
> the install process does not pick into the nonfree media unless the
> user asks to, what does it make an issue (not that I have no idea
> about that, just that I'd like to see it expressed again from a
> different POV of mine - and that will help for the survey definition
> too).

In the public appearance this would make a difference. As soon as
there is non-free contents on the ISO it is a non-free ISO. That we
provide non-free on the mirrors doesn't make Mageia a non-free distro,
only what we offer as "products".
That's why I also don't like the idea to have a free ISO and an ISO
including core & non-free.

> The alternative, if we're not to mix things on the static media, is to
> have distinct ISOs: free and nonfree/tainted ones. Times the format:
> DVD/CD/arch/USB through which we would have to decide to ease:
> building, qa and distribution (we will have to choose a default one to
> provide to visitors on the download page for instance).

No. As I already wrote: a small dualarch "driver ISO" is all that's needed.
No issue about what kind of distro Mageia supplies, no issue about
build efforts.

Plus the benefit of making the user aware of the difference.

-- 
wobo