Cutting Free

In a comment left for the interview with gNewSense founders Paul O’Malley & Brian Brazil, it was asked why they had chosen to base the distribution on Ubuntu rather than Debian. The argument was made that Ubuntu "…adds more restricted firmware and uses more binary blobs then debian. So rather that using a base that adds that type of software in and then removing it again, why not just start with debian…"

I don’t really know whether Ubuntu adds more of these things, other than those in Restricted (which I would exclude from my Ubuntu install anyway). However, for the sake of argument, we’ll say that it’s true and look some of the reasons Ubuntu may have been chosen in spite of this.

Debian

From Wikipedia:

The Debian distribution was first announced on August 16, 1993 by Ian Murdock, then a student at Purdue University. Murdock initially called his system the "Debian Linux Release".^[1] In the Debian Manifesto he had called for the creation of a GNU/Linux distribution to be maintained in an open manner, in the spirit of Linux and GNU. He formed the name "Debian" by combining the first name of his girlfriend (now wife) Debra with his own first name.

Debian has been one of the foremost examples of a Free Software GNU/Linux distribution. The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) were considered a most stringent list of the requirements for software to be considered Free. Their original exclusion of KDE was testament to these values, and was instrumental in Trolltech’s decision to re-license QT under the GPL (KDE requires QT, which was the source of licensing problems). They did maintain a "non-free" repository of packages for which the functionality was not duplicated by Free Software, but these were not in the default install.

Their position has been tempered by their inclusion of binary drivers in the Linux kernel, but their are few distributions that match their commitment to software freedom. This is a good argument for gNewSense to choose Debian as their base.

However, Debian also suffers from the volunteer status of its developers.

Unlike most GNU/Linux distributions, Debian is not supported by a commercial entity. This removes many distractions, and allows them to concentrate on their moral commitments. They do not have the same pressure to release often and gain revenue from CD sales, or to release with the latest software versions. Instead, they release when the software has been very thoroughly tested, and on multiple platforms. This has given a reputation of rock-solid stability, sometimes with the only downtime being for a kernel upgrade.

Unfortunately, this also leads to stagnation. There were long periods between releases, and by the time they arrived, the software was out of date. Users want the latest stuff, and they go elsewhere. There has always been a ‘testing’ version of the distribution, which most developers will run, that provides more of the latest software. This gives the developers even less motivation to release, because they’re already using the newer applications. Debian also had a reputation for being difficult to use (although I liked hacking the text file configurations), again because the developers had no commercial motivation to make it usable for non-developers.

Debian was suffering from these effects, and Redhat gained in popularity. Debian’s superior package format, the "deb" (don’t remember if it had a proper name), even came under great pressure from Redhat’s rpm format. Then came the derivative distributions. These were generally based on the ‘testing’ version of Debian, which was still comparatively stable. The first of these, Corel Linux and Storm Linux, had limited success, but they share the same motivations as Ubuntu and other Debian-derivatives. They wanted to tap into the power and stability of Debian, but provide more recent software versions and greater usability.

These derivatives breathed new life into Debian, and the ‘deb’ package format. It gained a great deal of influence.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu has surpassed its siblings and become very successful. This may be because the other distributions were perceived as too commercial, with a lax attitude towards software freedom. Ubuntu seemed to share Debian’s values, while succeeding in its other objectives.

Ubuntu seemed to have the same devotion to Free Software, but fixed the problems inherent in a volunteer-run distribution.

It is backed by a commercial entity, Canonical, so it has the motivation to deal with Debian’s issues. They include up-to-date software, with a brisk six-monthly release cycle, and they have created one of the most user-friendly GNU/Linux distributions out there.

That’s why I chose it. I thought I was getting the best of both worlds. A commitment to Free Software, and a user-friendly, up-to-date Debian.

I actually think that’s what the Ubuntu community want. They showed great support for Debian with their position on Firefox (see "Fire and Ice"), even though Canonical let them down by ignoring the issues. Ubuntu are also famous for using a non-free distribution management system ("Launchpad").

Why Choose Ubuntu?

It would seem that Ubuntu’s weakened commitment to Free Software would be a good reason to choose Debian. However, you would then have to deal with the problems listed above.

If you take Ubuntu as your base, you have a user-friendly, up-to-date distribution, that inherits Debian’s stability. Most of Ubuntu is Free, so they’ve done a lot of the hard work for you.

In fact, even though Ubuntu includes recent software, it isn’t just a reproduction of the Debian ‘testing’ version. They’ve done a lot of work to make the distribution stable with these software versions.

A big consideration is the fact that Ubuntu is just one CD, whereas Debian takes up 15 CDs. For a project with few resources, this is a significant factor.

Ubuntu is also a very popular distribution. The effectiveness of piggy-backing on this popularity should not be underestimated.

I hope this post has been useful in understanding the reasons that gNewSense have for choosing Ubuntu as their base distribution.

Because of this choice, we have a user-friendly, up-to-date GNU/Linux distribution that is completely Free. I’ve now got what I was looking for - the best of both worlds.

Disclaimer: These are my opinions. I haven’t asked the gNewSense guys why they chose Ubuntu. These ideas just seemed logical to me.

Related posts:

• An interview with gNewSense founders Paul O’Malley and Brian Brazil
• An Ubuntu gNewSense
• A new gNewSense (1.1)

Links:

• gNewSense.org 

On a pretty impressive schedule, Paul O’Malley and Brian Brazil have released version 1.1 of gNewSense, just two months and twenty days after version 1.0.

This new version is still based on Ubuntu Dapper, so there’s no new kernel and the other software versions haven’t changed much either.

New stuff 

So what has changed?

The highlights:

• A KDE version.
• A host of new Builder stuff.
• Rebranded Firefox.
• New artwork.
• Bugfixes.

KDE 

There is now a KDE LiveCD. I’m sure this will have been eagerly awaited by many. I find that I’m rather indecisive about the two desktop environments, tending to switch every so often. I’ll stick to Gnome for now, but I do like the visual appeal of KDE.

Builder 

As you will have seen from the interview with Paul and Brian, Builder is very important to them. They are devoted to the idea that anyone should have the freedom to make their own GNU/Linux distribution, the way they want it. They have given us Builder to achieve this. Currently it’s quite specific to gNewSense, but they are working to make it more flexible. This release features a much updated Builder, and has been generated using this version.

Firefox 

gNewSense have restated their commitment to Free Software by rebranding Firefox, to deal with the artwork issue (see "Fire and Ice"), and disabled the automatic links to non-free plugins.

gNewSense have few resources, but their achievements are prodigious. I will be very interested to see when they bring out a new major version. It seems reasonable to expect it shortly after the next LTS Ubuntu release. If they can do so, it should bode well for their future.

Builder is an asset to the Free Software community. The gNewSense team (especially Brian) can be proud of a very real achievement.

Related posts:

• An interview with gNewSense founders Paul O’Malley and Brian Brazil
• An Ubuntu gNewSense
• Fire and Ice

Links:

• gnewsense.org
• Press release
• How to create your own GNU/Linux distribution (Builder howto)

The co-founders of gNewSense, Paul O’Malley & Brian Brazil, very kindly agreed to give an interview. As usual, it was conducted by email.

It’s great to have their two differing perspectives. Between them, they provide a balance that is probably responsible for the success of gNewSense. Their passion is also quite evident.

They tell us what gNewSense is about, where it’s going, and why their distribution maintenance tool, "Builder", is so invaluable. 

Can you describe your backgrounds?

POM: Currently working as an IT Manager for what we call a SME company here (Small Medium Enterprise). I started using Free Software in 1994, I stopped using a popular desktop as my personal desktop at that time.

BB: I’m currently working as a Systems Administrator.

I graduated recently (2006) with a degree in Computer Science. 

Can you tell us what gNewSense is?

POM: A Free as in Freedom GNU/Linux Distribution.

BB: A project to produce a fully free version of Ubuntu, and to allow others to do the same. 

Why did you start gNewSense?

POM: In Nov ‘05 Richard Stallman and Mark Shuttleworth were in Tunis. They both spoke of gnubuntu, however both meant something that the other could not mean. As a Ubuntu member, I thought, hang on a sec that is a great idea. I nearly dropped the idea but one particular person in Texas kept prodding me.

I asked Brian for help, he kindly agreed and so began an adventure. As the idea developed, it became obvious to us that to make the distro "FSF Acceptable" several steps had to be taken. Not pointing at none Free Software, not using non free tools and, very important on the list, we needed a punny name.

BB: I was interested in the idea of providing what at the time was ubuntu-libre as I always want all the source available to me. Creating a distribution is also a black art, and I hoped to partially fix that by documenting and scripting all the steps. 

Where does the name come from?

POM: People using NU for New and GNU it was too much of a pun to miss. GNU - Sense

It came from a chat Brian and I had about gpg keys and RMS’s one came into the conversation.

BB: The name originated as Gnusiance as a reference to RMS’s GPG key, but was later changed to gNewSense to also capture the New Sense of the distribution and as a pun on GNU. 

At what point did the Free Software Foundation get involved?

BB: A few days after the 0.85 release, they contacted us. Sometime after that they provided hardware and hosting. 

What exactly is the FSF’s involvement? Do they pay you, as individuals, to work on gNewSense?

POM: No.

BB: We’re not paid by the FSF. They provide hardware, hosting and related support. 

Can you tell us how many gNewSense downloads there have been?

BB: As a very conservative estimate, 6000. However this doesn’t include mirrors.

Can you explain why binary blob Linux drivers are an issue?

POM: They rob users of their freedom to interact with the hardware fully, they may contain bugs that are not fixed for months. I believe that in some really extreme cases outside of the GNU/Linux field you can not get any source for the code that people run on their systems.

I think Free Software has a window of opportunity there.

BB: They are code which the manufacturer can change, but I can’t.

Do you think that user-complacency has contributed to the problem?

POM: User complacency and in some cases a lack of knowledge. When it comes to complacency, those users should say to themselves, just because one person puts their hand in the fire should they be copied.

BB: Yes.

How much hardware is affected by the removal of binary blobs?

POM: At this point if I may, I wish to give into what is said to be a national trait, that of answering a question with a question. So I wish to turn the thinking in the question on its head, and say if your hardware reacts badly to gNewSense,  is it time for you to examine what the vendor is doing to you? If they offer some piece of hardware in exchange for your freedom and then they don’t trust you to run that hardware correctly. They don’t trust you, why should you trust them? As you don’t have the specifications could it be the case that they are pretending that commodity is really something luxurious? How can you know that?

BB: http://svn.gnewsense.svnhopper.net/gnewsense/builder/trunk/firmware/firmware-removed

Mostly network cards (wired and wireless), some SCSI controllers and sound cards. We have many reports of gNewSense working perfectly, including on some laptops. 

Why did you choose to base gNewSense on Ubuntu?

POM: The bug fixing that went into its release and the Long Term Support format, which gives us room to be slow on the take up.

BB: Ubuntu LTS is a good base with an active community, and is also very user friendly. 

Is gNewSense likely to move away from Ubuntu, as a base?

POM: Not in the short term, and it would depend on the size of the community and their energy. If it was it would most likely head off in
its own direction, with the same goals.

BB: This might happen in the distant future when the project is bigger. It’s more likely that we’d become a seperate distribution at that point rather than switching to Debian. 

You state that your goal is to create a fully Free distribution. Is there a lot of software, other than the kernel, on which you are having to work to achieve this goal?

POM: No, as we don’t include software that is None Free intentionally. The layout of the repositories upstream help here.

BB: Our changes are documented at, although many are rebranding:

• http://www.gnewsense.org/MainRepo/MainRepo
• http://www.gnewsense.org/Universe/Universe

The kernel is the hardest part, but certain aspects of software such as Firefox also cause issues. 

What is your position on software that is designed to work with MP3, and other similarly patented formats, that has traditionally been excluded by the likes of Debian?

POM: We leave it out. In some places to include those materials would be illegal, so easier to not do it from the start. We have no right to compromise any user, or ask any user to compromise themselves.

BB: While we agree that software patents are bad, we specifcally take no stance on the mp3 issue. 

What sort of release schedule are we likely to see?

POM: Depends but a point release on something like a four month basis might be reasonable. This is the view from where we stand today. It is a good vista, unlike some vistas we could mention.

BB: We currently release when there have been changes to Builder that significantly improve things. There’s currently no set schedule, but once a quarter seems likely. 

Is there likely to be a KDE version of gNewSense?

POM: Yes, thanks to the tremendous work of Chris Fernandez.

BB: There will be a KDE variant with the next release.

Do you hope to include the Upstart sysvinit replacement in one of the next few releases?

POM: No for the reasons Brian states.

BB: No, we’re currently sticking to Dapper so this doesn’t affect us.

You have a very distinctive login screen. One of the most attractive in GNU/Linux distributions. Do you plan to create a
similarly distinctive look throughout the distribution?

POM: We would like to. If people would do what we asked on the list we might manage to get something good together.

BB: This depends on what artwork the community provides to us. It’d certianly be a great thing, but is not related to the main aims of the distro which is the issue of freedom.

We have announced a photo contest for the images for the next release. 

What do you think is the best way to persuade hardware manufacturers to either provide Free Software drivers, or the appropriate documentation to create our own?

POM: The most practical thing people can do is put pressure on the retail end of the market. They are closest to the purchaser.

To do this, tell the supplier what you want, and WHY!

What do you expect for gNewSense in 2007?

POM: Growth, but that is not hard given where we were last year.

BB: New releases, multiarch support and the rise of several distributions that use Builder. 

Sun has talked about releasing OpenSolaris under the GPL. What effect do you think this could have on the Linux kernel? Could it help with the driver situation?

POM: It would lead to a very interesting situation. It would be more interesting if it was done after the release of GPLv3, and it was GPLv3 or later. This would make one of the Sun stacks so attractive to Free Software people it would be unreal. In addition anything that has "GPLv2 or later" could be used on an OpenSolaris system. How is that for low hanging fruit?

What has been the most difficult thing in creating and maintaining gNewSense?

POM: Finding Brian, and then "what he says". 

BB: Tracking down what’s causing weird failures. For instance the installer will crash out if the restricted kernel modules aren’t available, and weird undocumented things happen if /etc/ls.so.nohwcap exists. 

What has been the most enjoyable?

POM: Working with people on it, seeing it getting attention.

Of which gNewSense achievement are you most proud?

POM: The idea of steps repeatable documented and to be available to others was the most important aspect in the design. To accomplish this we have Builder.

BB: Builder, as this gives anyone the ability to produce a distribution and automatically maintain it. 

What is the best way for people to help gNewSense?

POM: Join us, on IRC or our mailing list, do some documentation on the wiki, fix a bug, help if you have hardware with AMD64 or PPC. Explain to those who do not know what the dangers of none Free Software are.

BB: Our biggest need is for developers and documentation. We need to add more features such as multiarch, and make sure our users can get the help they need from our website.

I’d like to thank Paul and Brian for their excellent answers, and for their work in creating a truly Free GNU/Linux. I’m looking forward to seeing its development.

Related Posts:

• An Ubuntu gNewSense
• What is “Free Software”?
• Free as in Freedom: book review
• Young Upstart
• Fire and Ice
• The interviews

Links:

• gNewSense home page
• gNewSense login screenshot
• Free Software Foundation
• Recommended hardware

It’s amazing how much I’ve learned since starting this blog.

Last week I talked, in the "Fire and Ice" post, about how Firefox is not wholly Free Software. In that post, I detailed the attempts by Debian and Ubuntu to exclude the non-free parts of the package, so that they had a Free Software distribution. This week I have learned about a new GNU/Linux distribution, sponsored by the "Free Software Foundation", that aims to only include 100% Free Software. That project is gNewSense, which released version 1.0 on November 2nd, and it removes the non-free parts of Ubuntu.

Why?

I have been quite shocked to find out that the standard Linux kernel contains binary-only "blobs", to enable the use of certain hardware. This seems clearly to be in violation of the GPL, and is unquestionably not Free.

gNewSense have created a distribution based on Ubuntu, but they have removed these blobs from the kernel. They have also removed the restricted repositories, and they do not use Canonical’s proprietary Launchpad system for bugtracking, translation, etc. It should be noted that Canonical state that they intend to release Launcpad as Free Software in the future.

This is important for those of us who believe in software Freedom, and who use GNU/Linux because of that Freedom and not because of the price. I am really quite concerned that I hadn’t heard about these "blobs" before now, and it seems that they are tolerated for the sake of popularity. Popularity, of course, is important to increase the clout of Free Software, but sacrificing Freedom in the process is hypocritical and does not encourage hardware manufacturers to participate in that Freedom.

Problems

Of course, if you remove those blobs, then some hardware won’t work. It becomes necessary to research a purchase before you make it. Wireless cards seem to be the most problematic. However, this has been an issue with GNU/Linux for years. I always research hardware compatibility before buying. Of course, this has improved in recent years, but I’m disapointed to find out these blobs are why.

If you would like some resources to research compatibility, have a look at the links at the end of this post.

Why Ubuntu?

• Ubuntu is Debian-based. Debian was probably the closest to being a 100% Free GNU/Linux distribution.
• Ubuntu addresses many of the criticisms directed towards Debian. It is desktop-oriented, easy to use (even for new users), and is released often, with the latest software versions. In fact, Ubuntu could possibly be criticised for sticking too rigidly to their frequent release schedule.
• Debian is renowned for being one of the most stable operating systems in existence, and Ubuntu inherits a lot of that stability.
• Ubuntu is very popular, which should lead to rapid recognition of gNewSense.

Current Status

The newly released gNewSense 1.0 is based on Ubuntu 6.06. It’s a shame that it’s behind, but it’s understandable considering it’s basically been a two-man band. I like Ubuntu 6.10, especially Upstart, and I hope they can release gNewSense based on that version soon. In future, I hope they can work in Ubuntu unstable until the Ubuntu release, which should reduce the lag.

I have read that Debian plan to address the issue of the Linux blobs, and that should filter through to Ubuntu. It remains to be seen what role gNewSense would have at that stage.

gNewSense is sponsored by the "Free Software Foundation", which is not only an endorsement of their aims, but a boost to their chances of success.

– 

I hope that gNewSense is a resounding success, and I certainly intend to move to it from Ubuntu. Hopefully it will stir people into action, experience heavy development, influence the removal of the Linux blobs, and prove the power of Free Software.

Links:

• gNewSense
• gNewSense Wiki
• FSF gNewSense press release
• gNewSense original press release
• A good review of gNewSense, KnoLinuxGuy (I don’t agree with his stance on compromise for functionality, but it highlights the issues)
• gNewSense screenshot walkthrough

Hardware Compatibility Links:

• http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/
• http://www.linux-drivers.org/
• http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/
• http://vendorwatch.org/