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

Download:

Digital Sovereignty Discussed in the United Kingdom (UK): Digital Sovereignty would be nice, but let's remember what contributes to it
IBM Adds Only More IBM Staff to the Fedora Council, They Like LLM Slop for Posting 'Articles': It's like Canonical with Ubuntu, only worse
SUEPO Munich Informs/Contacts the German Government About the Situation at the European Patent Office (EPO): Salary Erosion Procedure: Two letters to Germany
Links 18/06/2026: Clown Computing Has Harmful Sound, Facebook "Must Face the Music (Infringement Litigation)": Links for the day
IBM Common Stock Down to About $250, It Was at $330 Just 17 Days Ago: Happy birthday IBM!
Microsoft's CEO Openly Admits XBox is Not Sustainable and Microsoft is Beginning to Admit Slop Isn't Working and Is Not Not Sustainable Either: Expect Microsoft cancellations next month (or later this month) to impact far more than XBox and some studios
EPO and Disabilities: Payments Allegedly Disabled: But people who do cocaine can claim paid "sick leave" (over 100,000 euros for no work at all) if the President sleeps with them
SLAPP Censorship - Part 110 Out of 200: Anti-SLAPP Reform Formally Advanced in the United Kingdom (UK) the Same Week the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (US) Does Forum-Shopping in the UK: The only language they understand is money. They don't understand privacy.
Links 18/06/2026: UK Social Media Ban for Minors, Finland Lifts a Nuclear Weapons Ban: Links for the day
'Article' With "AI" 27 Times in the Page, It's "Partner Content" (Paid Spam) as Usual at The Register MS: We deem this a timely reminder that a lot of the hype around slop is paid-for lies
Microsoft Layoffs Have Reportedly Already Started at ZeniMax: The overall scale is unknown
Cyber Show: "Our independence remains intact and we're set to continue relentlessly probing the world of digital technology with hard questions": As one should
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Leveraging the Lusitanian Connection: Mendonça no longer functions as an independent agent but rather as a fig-leaf for a mafia-like entity that prizes obedience over integrity and self-preservation over truth
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 17, 2026: IRC logs for Wednesday, June 17, 2026
The "Official" Numbers That Say "Microsoft Layoffs" Will be Misleading: The scale of the layoffs in gaming will be unprecedented
SLAPP Censorship - Part 109 Out of 200: When You Drag Family Members Into a Case Unrelated to Them Because Their Relative Published Something: This did not exactly surprise us given what we had already encountered
Gemini Links 17/06/2026: Feeling "Useful"; PISA Pen-and-Paper Cipher: Links for the day
Trajectory of O'Reilly: From Publisher of Books to Microsoft Advertiser: The state of the media is not good and when prolific book publishers start running ads as 'articles' or videos (never mind the disclosure) it is rather tasteless
Links 17/06/2026: Slop's “Crack Cocaine” Approach to Pricing, Microsoft's Rapid Shrinking of Gaming Business: Links for the day
Links 17/06/2026: "How Developers React to Slop-Scented Blog Posts", Police Caught Fabricating Evidence Using Slop: Links for the day
More Than 90% in European Patent Office (EPO) Ballot Vote for Continuation of Industrial Actions/Strikes, About Half Wish to Further Intensify These: Ballot results on intensification of actions
If Not Now, Then When?: If you are not part of the solution/s, then you're merely a vessel or passive participant
Microsoft Offers People 'Retirements' (Again) to Fake (Artificially Lower) Number of Layoffs, Those People Are Nowhere Near Retirement Age: Microsoft implicitly affirms huge cuts are coming
Gemini Links 17/06/2026: 10 Years in Canada, Wild Flower Explorations, and Microslop: Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The Portuguese Prodigy: In this part we will present some additional background information about Mendonça's activities before he joined the EPO
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 16, 2026: IRC logs for Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Microsoft Will "DOOM" id Software and Others, Claim Observers: As the worst predictions trickle in and out Microsoft loses control of the narrative
Austria Shows Rapid Demise of Windows in the EU: Expect many Microsoft layoffs soon, and not just in XBox/gaming
Links 16/06/2026: Mainstream Media Affirms Microsoft Studio Closures Planned, Anthropic’s Latest Marketing Hype Debunked by Experts: Links for the day
This Morning The Register MS Published Page With "AI" 42 Times in It. It Was Paid SPAM.: The Register MS is propping up a pyramid scheme
Microsoft XBox is Having Its 1990s Apple Moment (Near Bankruptcy), Says Respected Insider: Microsoft's CEO has already admitted that XBox is having serious financial problems [...] They already try to reuse the brand "XBox" to refer to Vista 11
OECD Carries Water for Microsoft, Targets Schools and Children With Slop Agenda: Peel off a layer or two to find GAFAM
Microsoft "Xbox braces for sweeping studio closures before June 30.": Microsoft's control of the damage-limiting narrative has clearly slipped
In Africa's Largest Nation Windows Has Fallen From 100% to a Lot Less, Now All-Time Lows: Let's see what happens or will happen in Algeria in 2027
Richard Stallman's Talk Due in One Hour, Here's What People Say: To Stallman, what matters is control by users and collective control
SLAPP Censorship - Part 108 Out of 200: Moving On and Moving Up: an explanation of our rich history and commitment to courageous whistleblowers
Links 16/06/2026: UK to Restrict Access to Social Control Media; The FCC Wants to Eliminate Burner Phones: Links for the day
Why We Call Him Dr. Stallman: He got at least 15 such titles
United States of America: GNU/Linux Hovering Around 5% (It Started There): GNU/Linux is turning 43 this year (in a few months), Linux will turn 35
Microsoft Promises Made to be Broken: It's a real problem and it is not limited to XBox
IBM Down $61 in Two Weeks, The Lies About Quantum Computers Didn't Last Long: IBM is an unsafe employer, not a good place to work
You Probably Don't Want to "Go Viral" in Toxic Social Control Media: Good news sites do not strive to go "viral" but to be consistently good, irrespective of "traffic"
New 'Article' in The Register MS Has Mentioned "AI" 44 Times. The Register MS Got Paid to Publish It.: Bear this in mind when seeing "hey hi" all over the news
18-Year Anniversary of Our IRC Community: As noted some months ago, trolling and abuse in our IRC network is very rare these days
Microsoft - Like IBM - is Leaving a Legacy is Emptied/Abandoned Buildings: Microsoft's LinkedIn had many layoffs recently
Richard Stallman's (RMS) Speaking Tour in Europe Coincides With Abandonment of Microsoft Windows: The message applies to all governments
Gemini Links 16/06/2026: Nazi Law of Mental Abuse and Lewis Aburrow's 3D-Printed Slider: Links for the day
Links 16/06/2026: Windows TCO and Fedora Finding Serious 20-Year-Old Holes in Microsoft Outlook: Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: An Advisor to the President: he had recently advanced to membership of the "inner circle" of Team Campinos.
Two Weeks Ahead of July Three Studios Microsoft Plans to Shut Down Already Named: This is what happens when companies try to establish themselves on a mountain of promises and false assumptions, kicking the can down the road until payroll becomes hard to complete
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 15, 2026: IRC logs for Monday, June 15, 2026

TechBytes Episode 86: Debian GNU/Linux and Firmware

Recent Techrights' Posts