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Are the FSF's endorsements really worth anything? How many people on HN are using an FSF endorsed linux distro? The full list is here: http://www.gnu.org/distro

by macrael 16y ago

Are the FSF's endorsements really worth anything? How many people on HN are using an FSF endorsed linux distro? The full list is here: http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html Spoiler: Ubuntu, Fedora, and Debian aren't on it. What's the point of having such lists if they don't appear to exert any pressure on entities to change? (The aformentioned distributions seem in no hurry to move to compliance.)

tjr 16y ago
What kind of pressure do you think they should exert? They worked with Debian for years, but ultimately Debian didn't quite agree with their vision for total software freedom.
- macrael 16y ago
  They don't actually weild any power with which they could apply pressure, so its a bit of a moot point. I guess I was calling their purpose, as expressed by their completely ignored list, into question. I know people say that there is value in RMS being out there campaigining for our freedoms, but, again, with this list as evidence, it seems like no one takes him seriously. The distributions doing the most to bring free software to the public are censured by the FSF instead of being embraced. Obviously, this isn't entirely fair, and the FSF is very supportive to those popular distributions an supportive of your use of any free software. But this new list seems destined to be as useless as the first.
SkyMarshal 16y ago
"The desire to own a computer or device and have full control over it, to know that you are not being spied on or tracked, to run any software you wish without asking permission, and to share with friends without worrying about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)..." Yes, it's valuable to me, especially with the development of TPM hardware. I'd be greatful for trusted source like FSF to pre-screen hardware for those criteria so I don't have to dig through tech specs on Newegg, Amazon, and obfuscated manufacturer's websites trying to find it myself.
- macrael 16y ago
  My point is that they already have a list of free operating systems, and pretty much nobody uses them. Do you think it likely that their list of free hardware will be more useful?
  - SkyMarshal 16y ago
    1. Depends what's on the list, how comoditized the items are, how interchangeable with non-Free hardware they are. 2. Actually testing its usefulness by putting it out there > speculating about it without actually seeing it. 3. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it, especially if the cost of doing it is low. It could be the kind of sleeper project that just sits in a corner of the web until some calamity or inflection point comes along that suddenly puts Free hardware on everyone's radar.

by macrael 16y ago

tjr 16y ago

What kind of pressure do you think they should exert? They worked with Debian for years, but ultimately Debian didn't quite agree with their vision for total software freedom.

macrael 16y ago
They don't actually weild any power with which they could apply pressure, so its a bit of a moot point. I guess I was calling their purpose, as expressed by their completely ignored list, into question. I know people say that there is value in RMS being out there campaigining for our freedoms, but, again, with this list as evidence, it seems like no one takes him seriously. The distributions doing the most to bring free software to the public are censured by the FSF instead of being embraced. Obviously, this isn't entirely fair, and the FSF is very supportive to those popular distributions an supportive of your use of any free software. But this new list seems destined to be as useless as the first.

SkyMarshal 16y ago

"The desire to own a computer or device and have full control over it, to know that you are not being spied on or tracked, to run any software you wish without asking permission, and to share with friends without worrying about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)..." Yes, it's valuable to me, especially with the development of TPM hardware. I'd be greatful for trusted source like FSF to pre-screen hardware for those criteria so I don't have to dig through tech specs on Newegg, Amazon, and obfuscated manufacturer's websites trying to find it myself.

macrael 16y ago
My point is that they already have a list of free operating systems, and pretty much nobody uses them. Do you think it likely that their list of free hardware will be more useful?
- SkyMarshal 16y ago
  1. Depends what's on the list, how comoditized the items are, how interchangeable with non-Free hardware they are. 2. Actually testing its usefulness by putting it out there > speculating about it without actually seeing it. 3. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it, especially if the cost of doing it is low. It could be the kind of sleeper project that just sits in a corner of the web until some calamity or inflection point comes along that suddenly puts Free hardware on everyone's radar.