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. ⬆

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Keywords: gnu fsf richardstallman

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LLM Slop is Not Reliable, Constitutes No Process of 'Thinking'; There's No Thought Process at All, No Grasp or Understanding, Let Alone Context: Lies have become the "business model" [...] More people ought to talk about it and explain to other people what LLMs really are
Not a Security Expert If You Cannot Manage to Keep Online a Simple Two-User Mastodon Instance Somebody Else Built: From uptime of ~99% to maybe 80%
Microsoft Has All the Symptoms of a Dying Company (Mass Layoffs of the People Who Built the Company): the company's debt is going through the ceiling
For Effective 'Finlandisation' (Not Digital Sovereignty) to Be Replaced by Autonomy Finland Needs to Think Like GNU (Software Freedom), Not Linux (Openwashing Source, Plus LLM Slop and Killswitches): What is 'Finlandisation'?
IBM's Kyndryl in Trouble: Mass Layoffs, Payroll Problems, Buybacks (in Company Whose Debt is Almost Twice Its Total Value), and Soon $9 Per Share (Down Over 80%): Kyndryl is done. Stick a fork in it.
ICYMI: GNU/Linux Did Not Start in Finland: If we're honest/true to ourselves, we need to recognise history for what it is, not what some corporations (like GAFAM) want it to be
Links 16/05/2026: Climate Issues, Free Speech, and Monopolies/Monopsonies: Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/05/2026: Retreat and Devuan Manuals: Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 78 Out of 200: Slandering Me for Saying the Truth About Graveley and Garrett's Abuse of Processes, Stacking Dockets: These are the sorts of things British taxpayers ought to talk about
"AI" Became a New Name or Placeholder for Debt: Because they will only ever lose money for this thing with "tokens" or "potential"
"Microsoft Goodwill and Intangible Assets" Down Two Years in a Row, According to Microsoft: Microsoft cannot sell these, so what is their real relevance?
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 15, 2026: IRC logs for Friday, May 15, 2026
IBM: Shares Down 30%, Mass Layoffs, IBM Says "Goodwill" Grew by 10% to Over a Third of the Company's Total "Worth": According to IBM
Microsoft LinkedIn Layoffs "Very Likely Higher" Than 1,000 People: Microsoft is bleeding
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXIV - Luis Berenguer Giménez at the EPO (European Patent Office) Became the Punchline of EPO Staff: "the fact that Luis was caught with cocaine causes laughter. The use of cocaine in itself is not the real shocking bit."
IBM Keeps Culling Essential Linux, Fedora, GNOME, and GTK Staff: Over a month ago IBM laid off over 400 Red Hat engineers
Cisco Cuts Nearly 4,000 Jobs Because of Debt, Nothing to Do With Slop: The media keeps talking about revenue, not profits
Gemini Links 15/05/2026: UDP Game Forwarding Over SSH, Avoiding LLMs, and Alhena 5.5.9: Links for the day
Links 15/05/2026: Electric Company Shuns Entire Town to Prioritise Only Data Centres, Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. Carried Out Secret Attacks in Iran: Links for the day
Focus is Important, Focus is Everything: We are still running 6 multi-part series in tandem
Guest Post on False Marketing and PR Blitzes by Anthropic: A lot of people my age are just tired of the nonsense
Links 15/05/2026: UK antitrust regulator is officially investigating Microsoft Office, Anthropic’s Fraudulent Lies About Mythoslop Don't Withstand Scrutiny: Links for the day
IBM is Googlebombing the Media With Fake Numbers to Promote Fake Technology: a classic example of why much of today's media cannot be trusted (anymore)
Up to 10,000 Microsoft Layoffs in a Couple of Months: Many ways to skin a cat
Truth Hurts. People Hurt by Truth Aren't Entitled to Compensation.: Family members aren't exempt
SLAPP Censorship - Part 77 Out of 200: They Never Knew How to Handle Women (Except to Attack Them): The case against us was really quite simple
Update on Sirius Open Source in 2026 (When Your Former Employer Commits Crimes and Nobody is Held Accountable): I did not envision myself spending several years (even 4 years after leaving that company) challenging the system for tolerating and even covering up corruption
Codecs and Software Patents - Part VII - Entering Phase II, the Battle Against Companies That Normalise Taxed (by Patents on Mathematics) Codecs: In the next few part we'll deal with the impact on Free software, including the GNU Project
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXIII - Cocaine Use at the EPO's Top-Level Management "Adds Up" and Worsens Things "Over Time": "cocaine use knocks the IQ down permanently a tiny bit with each use. Over time that adds up."
Gemini Links 15/05/2026: Slop Fatigue and Banning LLM Use: Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 14, 2026: IRC logs for Thursday, May 14, 2026
Links 14/05/2026: Health Science, Cheeto Meets Pooh, and Facebook Staff Loathing the CEO: Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/05/2026: Early Morning Practice and Number to Roman Numeral Converter: Links for the day
FSF Advertises the Father of Software Freedom Giving a Talk in Germany (a Digital Sovereignty Interest Hub, Sponsor of Free Software): Free Software vs malware and the need for reverse engineering
Cybershow (UK) Shaping Up to be a Neat and Very Large Gemini Capsule: If only more platforms did the same, plenty of energy would be spared, "old" machines would be totally suitable (even with 20 tabs open), as we'd focus on substance, not bells and whistles
SLAPP Censorship - Part 76 Out of 200: The Problem With the United Kingdom Allowing Americans to File Lawsuits by Proxy (Relayed by "Hired Guns"): Solicitors in UK warned not to act as ‘hired guns’ to silence critics of super-rich
When Microsoft's LinkedIn Goes Offline All Your Fake Friends/Connections and Manufactured 'Status' Will be Gone: Many people quit social control media because they recognise it for what it truly is
Major Setback for IBM in the Courtroom, the Demolition of IBM is Proving Costly: Kyndryl is a sign of how IBM ("mother ship") is run and where IBM is heading
Links 14/05/2026: Willful Ignorance and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft: Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/05/2026: Rewatching V for Vendetta, JPEG XL, and Platform Migrations: Links for the day
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XXII - What the Science Says About Cocaine in the Workplace (EPO President, Mr. Campinos, Please Take Note): What the science says
European Patent Office (EPO) President, Mr. Campinos, Ignoring Its Staff While Protecting His Friends: the President is covering up cocaine use while ignoring his own workers
Slop Cannot Replace Everybody (the Story of Perl and Universities): Quantity where abundance exists is without merit; quality is what people opt for as they have limited time and patience
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 13, 2026: IRC logs for Wednesday, May 13, 2026

TechBytes Episode 86: Debian GNU/Linux and Firmware

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