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Shouldn’t firmware in general be considered part of the “hardware tier”? Free software, including Debian, had no choice but to run on non-free hardware since in

• 9wzYQbTYsAIc 4y ago
  ”non-free” firmware refers to kernel modules that wrap proprietary device libraries - NVIDIA is/was one major culprit but some common wireless devices also require proprietary libraries to function.
  • admax88qqq 4y ago
    I don't think non-free _firmeare_ has ever referred to kernel modules. All _firmware_ in the Debian repos refers to stuff that does not run in the main CPU but on the CPU embedded in various peripherals. Binary kernel modules such as the Nvidia driver are not generally considered firmware and are not covered by this vote as I understand it.
• toast0 4y ago
  Many people make a distinction when the firmware is stored on the hardware and loaded by the hardware itself vs stored in the filesystem and loaded in cooperation between system software and the hardware. Personally, this distinction doesn't make that much sense, if the firmware is opaque in both instances, eliminating (or vastly reducing) onboard storage seems like a cost reduction step that benefits the manufacturer and the user. [1] A more important distinction to me is if the interface documentation and drivers are open or closed. [1] unless the device class is one that could be a boot time device, except that firmware loading would be required --- it's hard to pxe boot from a network card if it doesn't function without a firmware upload, and that's not good for users who may want to pxe boot at some point