[Mageia-dev] Non-free firmwares in installer

[Buchan Milne]

----- "andre999" <andr55 at laposte.net> wrote:

> Wolfgang Bornath a écrit :
> >
> > 2011/3/24 Olivier Blin<mageia at blino.org>:
> >> Thorsten van Lil<tvl83 at gmx.de>  writes:
> >>
> >>> Am 24.03.2011 09:57, schrieb Wolfgang Bornath:
> >>>> 2011/3/24 Ahmad Samir<ahmadsamir3891 at gmail.com>:
> >>>>> On 24 March 2011 02:58, Dexter Morgan<dmorganec at gmail.com>   
> wrote:
> >>>>>> On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 1:38 AM, Ahmad
> Samir<ahmadsamir3891 at gmail.com>    wrote:
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Has the Free DVD in Mandriva ever contained non-free
> firmware?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> No, but the question is more , will we provide a "non free" dvd
> iso,
> >>>>>> and this question is i think interesting.
> >>>>>>
> >>>> A possible solution for people with such a setup could be a
> non-free
> >>>> "driver cd ISO" which they could include in the installation
> process.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> What about a DVD including non-free packages but has the option to
> not
> >>> install them?
> >>> I think the majority of the users don't care that much about
> >>> proprietary issues, they just need them for using there wireless
> card
> >>> or graphic card. Those how do care can just uncheck the non-free
> part
> >>> of the DVD. :)
> >>
> >> Yep, it could just be an option. The desktop selection step seems
> to be a
> >> good place in the installer to include it, it is visible enough,
> and
> >> right before packages installation. Though it would have to be
> renamed.
> >>
> >> We could have a checkbox "Install proprietary drivers if needed
> >> (non-free software)", ticked by default.
> 
> perfect solution :)

Maybe for you. Maybe for me. But, the *real* question is, would this discourage some of our target market from using our distribution.

IOW, we *must* get community input (after documenting some proposals).

> > Are you aware that this would mean that Mageia is not a "free
> > distribution" as planned? No matter how you phrase the question and
> > how many checkboxes a user would have to check, if non-free
> contents
> > is included in an ISO it is not a free ISO anymore.
> 
> Mageia the distribution includes non-free software.  We are talking 
> about what we include on the ISO.
> If users want to exclude installing any non-free packages, this 
> check-box solution solves the problem nicely.

Depends on what guidelines you follow. E.g., some might say there shouldn't be a checkbox at all. Some might say the checkbox should be disabled by default. Some might say that there should be no non-free software on the default media.

> So users that want to ensure that their installation works "out of the
> 
> box" will be satisfied.
> And purists that don't mind some things not working, can avoid 
> installing non-free drivers.

"Can avoid" and "guaranteed to never occur" are not the same, and some users may want the latter.

> Sounds like a win-win solution to me :)

But, again, this is subjective, you are presenting your preference, and yours may not be the only one we should cater to.

Regards,
Buchan