Is there any non free thing in Ubuntu Kernel

[Koh Choon Lin]

Hi

>> > > > So I think I we can have Ubuntu fork which has no non-free in shipment. But
>> > > > it is not possible. :D
>> > >
>> > > Sure it is. It's called Debian stable.
>> > >
>> > But you still won't have a general purpose computer that can be running with 100% free software.
>>
>> Clarify please.
>>
> Even if you have an open BIOS there's still the firmware on the HDD/SSD that's proprietary.

I am not sure about this, can one install a new version of firmware on
HDDs, akin to one can do with a modern BIOS?

Note that BIOS used to be a non-problem for freedom loving
individuals, courtesy of RMS:

"Strictly speaking, there was a non-free program in that computer: the
BIOS. But that was impossible to replace, and by the same token, it
didn't count.

The BIOS was impossible to replace because it was stored in ROM: the
only way to to put in a different BIOS was by replacing part of the
hardware. In effect, the BIOS was itself hardware--and therefore
didn't really count as software. It was like the program that (we can
suppose) exists in the computer that (we can suppose) runs your watch
or your microwave oven: since you can't install software on it, it may
as well be circuits, not a computer at all.

The ethical issues of free software arise because users obtain
programs and install them in computers; they don't really apply to
hidden embedded computers, or the BIOS burned in a ROM, or the
microcode inside a processor chip, or the firmware that is wired into
a processor in an I/O device. In aspects that relate to their design,
those things are software; but as regards copying and modification,
they may as well be hardware. The BIOS in ROM was, indeed, not a
problem."



-- 
Regards
Koh Choon Lin