TechBytes Episode 86: Debian GNU/Linux and Firmware

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2013-07-24 10:06:40 UTC
Modified: 2013-07-24 10:07:30 UTC

Richard Stallman in nature
Direct download as Ogg (00:06:42, 3.5 MB)

Summary: Richard Stallman's suggestion for people who want to compromise on the issue of firmware

THE latest Debian GNU/Linux, like the previous version (6.x), comes without notorious firmware by default, which causes inconvenience to some, yours truly included. I discussed this with Stallman and here are his views on the matter. ⬆

As embedded (HTML5):

Keywords: gnu fsf richardstallman

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"Bad Shim Signature"; So 'Secure' That It Overrides Users' Preferences and Turns Itself Back on (Coercive Measure): This was a few hours ago
We Covered UEFI 'Secure Boot' Scandals. The World Listened.: To hell with UEFI 'secure boot'
Fake News With Fake Numbers About Microsoft: "This is what happens when the world's economy is governed by sick old men"
Slopwatch: "Google News" is Fast Becoming a Mashup of Slopfarms, Linux Journal ("LJ") is a Dump of LLM Slop: Well done, Google News. Google itself can flourish as a slopfarm mashup.
If You Want to "make your 'Windows PC' lean, mean, and fast" You Will Install GNU/Linux or Some BSD: That kind of article says a lot about IDG
Slopwatch: Google News Infested With Slop (About Half of the Results for "Linux" Today): This is the sort of junk one finds when looking for "Linux" in Google News these days
Links 14/09/2025: Ricky Hatton Dies and McDonald's Declares War on Tipping Culture: Links for the day
Links 14/09/2025: Disasters for CEOs Obsessed With Slop and Slop Companies School Like Fish: Links for the day
"Bad Shim Signature" (Microsoft 'Secure' Boot): "Fresh install not booting"
What Microsoft Garrett and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common: Similar tactics, different "wings"
Links 14/09/2025: US "Economy Sagging", "Michigan Economy Wobbles From Tariffs": Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/09/2025: Minimalist Snippet Manager and Omarchy Linux: Links for the day
The Face of the Digital Far Right: Microsoft Lunduke: Microsoft Lunduke is an online extremist that belongs to and panders to the far right
20 Years Later and Academia Isn't the Same: "I never dreamed of being a professor"
'Cancel Culture' by the Right: Microsoft Lunduke Contacts People's Employers Trying to Get Them Fired: Microsoft Lunduke panders to extremists online
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 13, 2025: IRC logs for Saturday, September 13, 2025
Microsoft is Rapidly Dropped From Web Servers, Shows Survey: Microsoft lost about 8% "market share" in just 3 months
Many GNU/Linux Users Report MOK (Machine Owner Key) Issues in Recent Days: many people don't report this online and never post in Reddit
Links 13/09/2025: Escalations in East Europe and POTUS’ Health Cover-Up: Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/09/2025: Lagrange Turns 5 and Lagrange 1.19.2 Released: Links for the day
Microsoft Inside Your Linux: "Security vulnerability that allowed an attacker to bypass UEFI Secure Boot.": 2 hours ago
A New Low for "Linux Journal": Promoting MICROSOFT WINDOWS Using LLM Slop: They've just jumped the shark entirely
Torturing Users Who Just Want to Run GNU/Linux on Their Own PC: "Linux does not want to install"
The Register MS Still Takes Money to Hype Up "AI" in Articles by Microsoft Resellers With the Term "AI" 30+ Times in Them: Notice how many times they mention "AI"
The Apache Logo News is VERY Old, Racists and 'Anti-Woke' Bigots Look for Something to Incite Other Bigots With: Nothing to see here, move along
Linux Mint 9/11: "4th One Today..." (in Reddit): Remember that not everyone having an issue reports it to social control media like Reddit
Nepal Will Fall Without a Single Shot Fired, Thanks to Social Control Media: Or very few shots (by the authorities)
European Corruption in the European Patent Office (EPO) Targets Culture: "In reality, the project includes a new “legal instrument” shifting administrative burden and liability on EPO staff while creating new uncertainty and externalising Amicale activities."
European Authorities, Already Bribed and Infiltrated by Microsoft, Won't Help You Find BigBlueButton, Jami, Ring, and Jitsi: Because they're paid by Microsoft and are Microsoft 'addicts' themselves
UEFI Secure Boot Failing, as Expected for Nearly 15 Years Already (Techrights Said This Since 2012): in the media
Debian 9/11: people report this issue
Gemini and Web Links 13/09/2025: MElon's Slop Grift and "Autonomous Trains": Links for the day
Moving From Content Management Systems (CMSs) to Static Site Generators (SSGs) Saves You Time, Makes You a Lot More Productive: try to reduce the cost (financial and computational) of running your site
Pursuing Peace Through Violence: You cannot "see" a person's mind, until the mouth opens
Leak: European Patent Office (EPO) is Now Attacking Amicale Clubs: corruption has become the norm and scientists are robbed of any dignity
Can We Please Stop Celebrating Shooters?: "An important point to hammer on is that CoCs were never intended for uniform or symmetric application"
Oracle Fraud (or Defrauding Shareholders): "the obvious [lie] is that watts are (wasted) electricity [and] and FLOPS are computing capacity"
Geminispace is Growing Faster in 2025 Than It Did in 2024: What matters is that corporations haven't ruined it and LLM slop is extremely rare
Links 13/09/2025: China Punishes for 'Negative' Posts, US Police Unable to Find Shooter: Links for the day
Who's the Mystery Financier of SLAPP Against Techrights and Is That a Millionaire/Billionaire?: Whose idea was it to fund meritless lawsuits against my wife and I?
Slopwatch: Slow Slop Day: This distracts from or may take traffic away from the original articles, actually written by actual people
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 12, 2025: IRC logs for Friday, September 12, 2025
CoC Gone Wrong: Celebrating Murder OK, Complaining About the Celebration Gets You Banned: Hopefully the NixOS Foundation will have a word with (maybe replace) the moderator/s
Gemini Links 12/09/2025: Familiarity and Secondary Dominants: Links for the day
Explaining (in Length and Depth) the Damage Matthew Garrett Did to Linux and to GNU/Linux Users: no matter how many threats we receive
Links 12/09/2025: "Bad Reviews" as Extortion Weapon, "Free Speech At Risk in America’s Schools" According to ACLU: Links for the day
Only One Speaker Does Not Do Sharecropping for MElon (in X.com): The man who puts principles before PR/optics
The Mind of the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI': in a nutshell
A Day After "UEFI 9/11": UEFI Secure Boot Bypass: In the news today (right now), as published in the past few hours
Links 12/09/2025: Slop Code as Liability, Microsoft Outlook Down for Many: Links for the day
It's Still Not to Late to Turn Off "Secure Boot": If people reboot their PC or server today, and it relies on "Secure Boot" on Sept. 12 or later, then depending on the firmware there may be trouble ahead
Links 12/09/2025: Shira Perlmutter is Back, “Software Per Se” Patent Rejections in In re McFadden: Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux Plagiarism, Slopfarms Still Infesting Google News, Many Images Are Fake: Google is promoting plagiarism
"This Morning Might Turn Out to be an Interesting One for System Admins Who Haven't Updated Their Devices' Secure Boot Certificate" (If They Reboot): Who asked for this anyway?
Gemini Links 12/09/2025: Metric System, Dumping Windows, and Software Architecture is Dead: Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 11, 2025: IRC logs for Thursday, September 11, 2025

TechBytes Episode 86: Debian GNU/Linux and Firmware

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