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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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.
Torturing Users Who Just Want to Run GNU/Linux on Their Own PC: "Linux does not want to install"
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
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
Leak: European Patent Office (EPO) is Now Attacking Amicale Clubs: corruption has become the norm and scientists are robbed of any dignity
Oracle Fraud (or Defrauding Shareholders): "the obvious [lie] is that watts are (wasted) electricity [and] and FLOPS are computing capacity"
Explaining (in Length and Depth) the Damage Matthew Garrett Did to Linux and to GNU/Linux Users: no matter how many threats we receive
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
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."
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
Pursuing Peace Through Violence: You cannot "see" a person's mind, until the mouth opens
Can We Please Stop Celebrating Shooters?: "An important point to hammer on is that CoCs were never intended for uniform or symmetric application"
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
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
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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
Microsoft Admits the Workers Have Lost Trust (Endless Layoffs, 12-13 Rounds of Layoffs This Year), So Now It's Trotting out Its Peter Bright-Like Media Prop Jordan Novet: What they don't want people to pay attention to right now
Links 11/09/2025: Windows TCO and Russian Drones Invading Poland (EU/NATO): Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/09/2025: xkcd, misfin, and Alhena 5.3.2: Links for the day
Repetition of Last Summer (Microsoft Breaking Dual-Boot Systems): UEFI 9/11 is about to kick in
UEFI 'Secure Boot' Boiling Frogs (Cannot Turn Off 'Secure Boot'): "MSI laptop is locked on Secure Boot and doesn't allow me to turn it off"
UEFI 9/11 Aftermath - Part IV: The 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI' and His 'Hideout' Holiday (Retreat From Reality): Let's keep an eye on what matters
UEFI 9/11 Aftermath - Part III: Mr. 'Secure Boot' (Shim) and His Fake 'Holiday' (Sending My Wife and I Threatening E-mails on 9/11): despite being on holiday, according to him, he finds time to instruct lawyers to contact my wife
UEFI 9/11 Aftermath - Part II: "The SecureBoot Thing Got Out of Hand.": The next few weeks might be... interesting
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Culture of silence: Ubisoft harassment convictions, Mozilla, Sylvestre Ledru & Debian make no comment: Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Disable 'Secure Boot' (If It Lets You): it doesn't put you in control
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Gemini Links 11/09/2025: Playdate Console, Dichotomy between the Real and the Digital: Links for the day
A Dozen Observations About "UEFI 9/11" Deflections: What we are expected to see, tentatively
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New Series: The Coup Against GNU/Linux Has Begun: today, this year in particular, we shall also focus on Secure Boot, which is sold based on a lie and tortures many computer user
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Links 11/09/2025: Oracle Layoffs, Drunk Pilots in Japan Airlines, US-Korea Tensions Grow: Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 10, 2025: IRC logs for Wednesday, September 10, 2025

TechBytes Episode 86: Debian GNU/Linux and Firmware

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