5 ms·

I stopped using Firefox the minute I realized that `enable DRM' actually meant `run unfree secret-source software on my computer'. Don't know what this is doin

I stopped using Firefox the minute I realized that `enable DRM' actually meant `run unfree secret-source software on my computer'. Don't know what this is doing in my distribution's ``free'' package repository.

krastanov 5y ago
I am curious what you are using instead? A fork that hardcodes that choice?
- francoisz 5y ago
  Qutebrowser. I get that the choice is there, people want it and Firefox is still better than Chrome; but (1) Firefox should no longer be advertised as free software; and (2) it should be made abundantly clear what `enable DRM' actually means.
  - gjm11 5y ago
    If Firefox is not free software because it is able to run un-free binary blobs on your computer, then the same is true of (e.g.) Linux.
    - megous 5y ago
      Yeah, just disable the loader if you don't like it. Kinda unfair to call the whole system unfree for just being able to load non-free software.
      - francoisz 5y ago
        What put me off the most was that there was no warning: I had to know what DRM meant or run unfree software without realizing it. But, as was pointed out, this is also true of most Linux distrubutions, which is bad. There should be a clear warning and the default should be nothing unfree.
      - btdmaster 5y ago
        Unfortunately some of the Linux kernel mainline has questionable licensing too. [1] In short, [2] and [3] are probably linux-firmware territory in the mainline kernel. [1] https://www.fsfla.org/pipermail/linux-libre/2020-August/003400.html https://www.fsfla.org/pipermail/linux-libre/2020-August/0034... [2] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/net/appletalk/cops_ffdrv.h https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin... [3] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/net/appletalk/cops_ltdrv.h https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin...
        megous 5y ago
        Some card's bundled firmware from 1996 that's not even compiled in normal distro kernel builds? :D
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
        btdmaster 5y ago
        I see when you're coming from, but the last commit (in that section of the tree, granted, not the firmware itself) was 8 days ago. [1] [1] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/log/drivers/net/appletalk https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin...
        megous 5y ago
        Please look closely. All the commits there are tree-wide cleanups, or automated patches, documentation fixes, warning fixes, and mostly adaptations to internal kernel API changes,... This is normal "noise" for all code inside the kernel. That's the reason why having the driver mainline is good. But try to find any other activity since the start of git history in 2005. It doesn't show the driver is in use in the wild. The hardware might as well be extinct.
        5y ago
    - francoisz 5y ago
      Most Linux distributions, sadly, yes; good point.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]

krastanov 5y ago

I am curious what you are using instead? A fork that hardcodes that choice?

francoisz 5y ago
Qutebrowser. I get that the choice is there, people want it and Firefox is still better than Chrome; but (1) Firefox should no longer be advertised as free software; and (2) it should be made abundantly clear what `enable DRM' actually means.
- gjm11 5y ago
  If Firefox is not free software because it is able to run un-free binary blobs on your computer, then the same is true of (e.g.) Linux.
  - megous 5y ago
    Yeah, just disable the loader if you don't like it. Kinda unfair to call the whole system unfree for just being able to load non-free software.
    - francoisz 5y ago
      What put me off the most was that there was no warning: I had to know what DRM meant or run unfree software without realizing it. But, as was pointed out, this is also true of most Linux distrubutions, which is bad. There should be a clear warning and the default should be nothing unfree.
    - btdmaster 5y ago
      Unfortunately some of the Linux kernel mainline has questionable licensing too. [1] In short, [2] and [3] are probably linux-firmware territory in the mainline kernel. [1] https://www.fsfla.org/pipermail/linux-libre/2020-August/003400.html https://www.fsfla.org/pipermail/linux-libre/2020-August/0034... [2] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/net/appletalk/cops_ffdrv.h https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin... [3] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/net/appletalk/cops_ltdrv.h https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin...
      - megous 5y ago
        Some card's bundled firmware from 1996 that's not even compiled in normal distro kernel builds? :D
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
        btdmaster 5y ago
        I see when you're coming from, but the last commit (in that section of the tree, granted, not the firmware itself) was 8 days ago. [1] [1] https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/log/drivers/net/appletalk https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin...
        megous 5y ago
        Please look closely. All the commits there are tree-wide cleanups, or automated patches, documentation fixes, warning fixes, and mostly adaptations to internal kernel API changes,... This is normal "noise" for all code inside the kernel. That's the reason why having the driver mainline is good. But try to find any other activity since the start of git history in 2005. It doesn't show the driver is in use in the wild. The hardware might as well be extinct.
        5y ago
  - francoisz 5y ago
    Most Linux distributions, sadly, yes; good point.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]