The GNU Linux-libre project announced today the release and general availability of the GNU Linux-libre 7.3 kernel for those who seek 100% freedom for their GNU/Linux computers and software freedom lovers.
Based on the recently released Linux 7.3 kernel series, the GNU Linux-libre 7.3 kernel is here to clean up blob names in new drivers for the Tyr Mali GPU, Morse Micro mm81x wifi, NXP wifi, and Realtek PHY, as well as new blob names in preexisting drivers, including nova-core, amdgpu, adreno, tegra, iris video decoder, rtw89, and mt76 wifi.
The GNU Linux-libre 7.3 kernel also cleans up remoteproc documentation, Qualcomm Q6V5 PAS, qla2xxx scsi, aw88399 sound codecs, and assorted Qualcomm devicetree files. As usual, check out the release announcement for more details about the changes included in this new GNU Linux-libre kernel release.
The GNU Linux-libre kernel targets software freedom lovers and Linux purists who want to build a 100% free GNU/Linux computer without any proprietary drivers or code. You can download the compressed tarballs of the GNU Linux-libre 7.2 kernel right now from the official website.
Ready-to-use binary packages for Debian-based (DEB) and Red Hat-based (RPM) distributions are also available for download from the Freesh project and RPM Freedom websites. The GNU Linux-libre kernel can be installed on virtually any GNU/Linux distribution alongside or as a replacement for the standard kernel.
GNU Linux-libre is a modified version of the standard Linux kernel that removes all proprietary software, binary blobs, and non-free firmware. Managed by the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA) and was officialized as a GNU package in 2012.
Good luck getting most wifi and bluetooth hardware working without these firmwares. :)
firmwares
Just 'firmware', still. It never gets an S.
Well, that's why it's for the purists lol. Depending on the hardware you have/need it really is a pain. I use Guix but i still need the kernel from the nonguix channel. Nonguix does allow you to pick and choose firmware blobs, but on all my machines at the very least i need the amdgpu firmware. Wifi and bluetooth is something you could work around if you really wanted, but getting rid of the gpu firmware requires me to get a different laptop entirely, or in the case of my desktop get a different gpu, but i don't want to make that compromise cause finding a gpu that doesn't require that probably cuts into my gaming performance big time.
How is Guix? I'm on NixOS and have been thinking about making the swap. I set up a VM to fiddle with a bit and try to make configs for the transition and noticed some of my existing packages missing, but none of it was anything I couldn't live without, and I haven't even checked out nonguix yet. I haven't done much with it yet, but it at least seems viable.
So far it has been perfectly usable once you get the hang of it, but i do need nonguix for the kernel on actual hardware. Guix does have a smaller package repo, but they do have a Nix service that you can use to easily get the Nix package manager up and running and install packages through Nix if you need them.
A few months ago there was an issue with the nonguix substitute server that lasted for multiple weeks, so in that time if you wanted to update you had to compile the kernel yourself. I don't know if this is something that happens more often or if it was an unfortunate incident, but that did suck. Going forward though i'm planning on installing Guix on my server and with something that Guix calls "offloading", you can configure it so that a stronger machine can build your configuration, so that my poor laptop for example doesn't have to do the compiling lol.
Since Guix is more obscure it can be a bit more difficult to find answers in communities like Reddit, but on the flip side i feel like their documentation is better organized than Nix, and they provide code snippets in there as well to cover a lot of usecases you might have.
Another thing to keep in mind is the iso, cause since it's all libre by default without firmware blobs, unless you have a libre compatible system, you won't be able to render a graphical environment, and wifi on laptops can be an issue too. For my first install i used this old System Crafters iso and followed his guide to install it. At the moment i'm working on a helper script for myself that pulls in my config and runs some of the lengthy Guix commands i need, that i can then run after i install guix with the official iso, which should work cause even without firmware, you should be able to render a tty and the Guix installer also uses ncurses inside the tty. Hope this wasn't too lengthy of a reply lol, didn't realize i was going to be typing this much.
Hope this wasn't too lengthy of a reply lol, didn't realize i was going to be typing this much.
No, I appreciate it. It'll be useful when I finally get around to committing to it.
I'd be interested to try it out. How does it work installing this alongside an existing kernel on Debian?
You can install different kernels and switch between them if you want. If your computer works without using nonfree repo at all then the libre kernel will work.
Full instructions
https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/selibre/linux-libre/freesh.en.html
If you're coming from Fedora-based: https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/selibre/linux-libre/rpmfreedom.en.html
