gNewSense removes GLX

Gullible Jones · 2008-08-26 02:20:11

gNewSense 2.1 has been released, and it cannot do anything 3D. Why? Because parts of GLX are under a non-free license, and the whole thing therefore had to be ripped out.

I have two observations to make here:

1. The gNewSense people must be pretty far out there, seeing as this is software that Debian and Blag consider okay.

2. If the GLX license is, technically, not free, why haven't the XOrg devs replaced the relevant parts of the code (which don't appear to be very large)? And how exactly can a license be non-free if it is open source and doesn't incur any cost?

iBertus · 2008-08-26 02:38:04

That's pretty extreme. I'm no fan of proprietary driver lock-in or closed-source drivers but this is just nuts. Notice how the wikipedia page says that all non-open device firmware has been removed from the kernel. I don't suppose they ever expect anyone to use this with a laptop or need to have accelerated graphics.

I've never understood why people don't believe you can work on open standards while simultaneously using what currently works (until the open version is complete). Instead, these people seem to think that you should use a crippled system.

kensai · 2008-08-26 02:57:31

Although it seems extreme, and I personally would not use such distribution, that is their aim and goal, they are entitled to make it how they want, and they will always have a share of loyal fans. Many say we are crazy in our ways of doing things, but that is our way and goal. I really like seeing the diversity of distributions and how they have their loyal user base that swear by it. It just makes the whole general Linux community concept better.

cactus · 2008-08-26 03:06:00

While it may not be for me, I can certainly appreciate the hell out of it.
Great to see someone pulling on the rope tow in that direction.

iBertus · 2008-08-26 03:19:20

I just don't see how this type of distro could be usable by anyone with the current state of hardware drivers. I'd expect that in a few years, as open source drivers for popular video devices and network hardware improve, we may observe a change in the usability of such purist distributions. It's based on Ubuntu, so it likely works well in all other aspects. The question begs to be asked why you would base this type of distro on Ubuntu? The large number of Ubuntu users would probably be lost with a distro that lacked proper hardware support and had no 3D acceleration.

Gullible Jones · 2008-08-26 03:39:23

I have it on the word of a guy on the Debian forums that the GLX license allows a hostile third party to suspend users' licenses.

That is bloody huge, seeing as it basically puts Linux's 3D support at the mercy of anyone who happens not to like us. I'm surprised the code wasn't expunged from X.Org a long time ago.

Last edited by Gullible Jones (2008-08-26 03:40:42)

sokuban · 2008-08-26 03:42:10

Well, I won't use it because it probbably won't run on my PC, and I'm too used to Arch anyways. I'm too lazy to reinstall distros every 6 months.

But I'm glad that there are people in the world who try to make distros like this. Hopefully we can live in a future where we won't have to use non-free software at all.

I think that the distro was based on ubuntu so that the FSF could make a "free easy to use distro" for people who aren't knowledgable with computers. It might not be easy to use yet because of hardware compatibility problems, but I guess their goal is that you can give it to your mom and she can say she doesn't use any non-free software without having to recompile her kernel and remove non-free stuff herself.

And how many rebrands does firefox have now? Why don't they just use Iceweasel or something?

Last edited by sokuban (2008-08-26 03:45:10)

iphitus · 2008-08-26 08:08:55

Gullible Jones wrote:

I have it on the word of a guy on the Debian forums that the GLX license allows a hostile third party to suspend users' licenses.
That is bloody huge, seeing as it basically puts Linux's 3D support at the mercy of anyone who happens not to like us. I'm surprised the code wasn't expunged from X.Org a long time ago.

Don't take the word of any "random" guy on some random forum. That's how misinterpretations and urban myths spread.

http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=211765

Not just "any" third party, just the copyright holder. In this case, SGI, can sue for breaking _any_ copyright/patent law (if I've got the situation right...).

And it's not exactly trivial to expunge - if it was, it would have been done already. Like any FOSS project, it needs someone motivated enough and with the time to step up and write a replacement - which given it's importance and the fact debian have ignored it, is no small task.

stream303 · 2009-04-16 09:15:57

Looks like GLX is back with the latest 2.2 release of gNewSense.

For the real scoop on why GLX was such an issue, and how the FSF and SGI resolved it peacefully:
http://www.linux.com/feature/148339

I used it and when some hardware didn't work, like my broadcom wireless and ethernet, I just bought replacement cards from other companies that did support free standards. In this case, I just used a Netgear usb wireless stick instead of the built-in broadcom. I felt better about it anyway.

Last edited by stream303 (2009-04-17 09:52:10)

Arch Linux

#1 2008-08-26 02:20:11

gNewSense removes GLX

#2 2008-08-26 02:38:04

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

#3 2008-08-26 02:57:31

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

#4 2008-08-26 03:06:00

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

#5 2008-08-26 03:19:20

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

#6 2008-08-26 03:39:23

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

#7 2008-08-26 03:42:10

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

#8 2008-08-26 08:08:55

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

#9 2009-04-16 09:15:57

Re: gNewSense removes GLX

Board footer