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As someone that ran nixos for a time I wonder if this might allow me to proceed further - with nix(os) I had some issues grasping the recipes/the language. Sche

As someone that ran nixos for a time I wonder if this might allow me to proceed further - with nix(os) I had some issues grasping the recipes/the language. Scheme looks much more accessible to me. Offputting is the strong focus on libre in the announcement. While I actually like that I often find that projects that emphasize their relation to free/libre software are .. failing in the real world. Need to figure out if I could actually install useful media codecs, flash if needed, heck - maybe decss or whatever I deem necessary.

taylanub 12y ago
Adobe Flash is an outright offense if you ask me. A distro providing a separate repo for non-free software is one thing, forcing me to run uninspectable code, which is known to have a horrible security record, under my user's privileges, is another thing. As OpenBSD people say, it's a feature that it's missing. :-P I don't know what problem with media codecs there are. FFmpeg, as free software, implements H.264 just fine, even though it's a patented format. I don't know how exactly the legal aspects of that work, but I'm happy it somehow works, because otherwise I couldn't watch all my [spoiler]Chinese cartoons[/spoiler]. Now WiFi cards are a problem from what I know. You can buy a WiFi dongle with free software drivers though to get around that issue, or replace your laptop's WiFi card with one that has free drivers. I suspect that will be the one major issue with the GNU OS, and the only thing we can do is ask manufacturers of WiFi hardware to be more cooperative. The other big problem tends to be the BIOS, but GRUB/Linux-libre at least boot just fine on proprietary BIOS, so it's no issue for those who don't care. Those who want to take the further step for software freedom may want to look into LibreBoot: http://www.libreboot.org/ http://www.libreboot.org/
- darklajid 12y ago
  Well, let's put flash aside. I'm not a fan and Shumway works for most stuff that I need. Dropbox? BTSync? (I .. don't care about the latter, and try to replace the former with SyncThing atm, but I'm trying to make a point: It's more than just a single binary blob to watch cat movies or porn in a browser) What I really like to install is Steam. What I'm trying to say here is: If there's no middle ground, no way to fulfill my needs, the system just isn't for me. I might support the idealistic idea, but I cannot (or, more precise: I don't want to) work with a number of limitations. I didn't even think about wifi or anything hardware related. If that doesn't "just work" it's again impossible for me to use the project and I need to bury the idea of trying Guix right next to my failed attempt to run nixos as my host system.
wtracy 12y ago
> Offputting is the strong focus on libre in the announcement. While I actually like that I often find that projects that emphasize their relation to free/libre software are .. failing in the real world. It's a GNU project. GNU is run by the FSF. The stated goal of the FSF is the eventual elimination of all proprietary software. None of this should come as a surprise.

taylanub 12y ago

Adobe Flash is an outright offense if you ask me. A distro providing a separate repo for non-free software is one thing, forcing me to run uninspectable code, which is known to have a horrible security record, under my user's privileges, is another thing. As OpenBSD people say, it's a feature that it's missing. :-P I don't know what problem with media codecs there are. FFmpeg, as free software, implements H.264 just fine, even though it's a patented format. I don't know how exactly the legal aspects of that work, but I'm happy it somehow works, because otherwise I couldn't watch all my [spoiler]Chinese cartoons[/spoiler]. Now WiFi cards are a problem from what I know. You can buy a WiFi dongle with free software drivers though to get around that issue, or replace your laptop's WiFi card with one that has free drivers. I suspect that will be the one major issue with the GNU OS, and the only thing we can do is ask manufacturers of WiFi hardware to be more cooperative. The other big problem tends to be the BIOS, but GRUB/Linux-libre at least boot just fine on proprietary BIOS, so it's no issue for those who don't care. Those who want to take the further step for software freedom may want to look into LibreBoot: http://www.libreboot.org/ http://www.libreboot.org/

darklajid 12y ago
Well, let's put flash aside. I'm not a fan and Shumway works for most stuff that I need. Dropbox? BTSync? (I .. don't care about the latter, and try to replace the former with SyncThing atm, but I'm trying to make a point: It's more than just a single binary blob to watch cat movies or porn in a browser) What I really like to install is Steam. What I'm trying to say here is: If there's no middle ground, no way to fulfill my needs, the system just isn't for me. I might support the idealistic idea, but I cannot (or, more precise: I don't want to) work with a number of limitations. I didn't even think about wifi or anything hardware related. If that doesn't "just work" it's again impossible for me to use the project and I need to bury the idea of trying Guix right next to my failed attempt to run nixos as my host system.

wtracy 12y ago

> Offputting is the strong focus on libre in the announcement. While I actually like that I often find that projects that emphasize their relation to free/libre software are .. failing in the real world. It's a GNU project. GNU is run by the FSF. The stated goal of the FSF is the eventual elimination of all proprietary software. None of this should come as a surprise.