#1 2017-01-15 16:55:51

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,083

Website

Free your BunsenLabs system!

The stock BunsenLabs system includes several packages that are downloaded from the "contrib" and "non-free" components of the Debian jessie repositories.

These packages are commonly described as "binary blobs" because their source code is not available, or because the packages depend on software which is closed-souce (in the case of contrib).

To clear your system of these undesirable packages, run this command:

sudo apt purge {amd64,intel}-microcode firmware-{linux{,-nonfree},b43{,legacy}-installer} unrar b43-fwcutter iucode-tool ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Then check the status with:

sudo apt install vrms
vrms

Which should result in:

TheLab: ~ # vrms                                                                                                                                          

No non-free or contrib packages installed on TheLab!  rms would be proud.
TheLab: ~ #

Be sure to edit /etc/apt/sources.list afterwards and remove the contrib & non-free components, just leave main:

deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian jessie  main
deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian jessie-updates  main
deb http://security.debian.org jessie/updates  main

And update your database:

sudo apt update

Congratulations, your system is now clean!

rms blesses you:

Note that any hardware that requires blobs will cease to function, buy better hardware to avoid this.

Important: in the case of Intel and AMD processors, (non-free) microcode *must* be applied, I use the pre-prepared Intel microcode initramfs image provided by Arch and a custom bootloader entry to load it before the operating system starts.

An alternative would be this method but it's a bit more involved.

Anyway, it's all worth it because apparently rms sleeps with Ninja swords under his bed and he *will* find you if you run `vrms` and don't correct the faults...

8o

---

Para todos todo, para nosotros nada

tynman

Member

Registered: 2015-10-13

Posts: 93

Re: Free your BunsenLabs system!

Nice.

I'll have to ask, next time I'm in the neighborhood computer store, to have a look at their selection of non-Intel/non-AMD x86 processors. (I'll record their reactions.)

This reminds me I saw this article today: http://hackaday.com/2017/01/14/blob-les … ep-closer/ about how Raspberian Linux won't need the  Broadcom ARM processor firmware blob in the future (but maybe not soon, the author notes "You won’t be booting a blob-free Raspbian any time soon...").

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,083

Website

Re: Free your BunsenLabs system!

I'll have to ask, next time I'm in the neighborhood computer store, to have a look at their selection of non-Intel/non-AMD x86 processors. (I'll record their reactions.)

Yes indeed, it does rather make a mockery of the whole process, doesn't it?

And of course, the hardware that does not require firmware to be loaded from the operating system will have the blobby firmware in the onboard ROM instead 

Thankfully, there are some truly free (as in speech) hardware solutions becoming available now:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-sour … g_hardware

If I had the money I would order a custom FPGA running the OpenSPARC T2 architecture:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/syste … 46157.html

EDIT: can we port BunsenLabs to SPARC64?

8o

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2017-01-16 18:58:35)

---

Para todos todo, para nosotros nada

KrunchTime

Member

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 857

Re: Free your BunsenLabs system!

rms blesses you:

https://s30.postimg.org/sttmxioot/saintignucius.jpg