Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Wait... why does Linux-libre (and #Freedo) exist? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Is Linux not free software itself? I thought propietary stuff was added downstream.

Am I getting something wrong?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago

AFAIK, the Linux codebase is actually open source in its entirety. However it has parts that are capable of loading non-free stuff like firmware. The linux-libre project makes sure those parts are disabled.

Personally, I think it's a fool's errand as it would render most modern systems unusable (in the reasonable sense).

They also don't apply such harsh judgement to firmware that resides in ROM, and only to firmware updates. In most of these cases you'd have systems with outdated firmwares with neither QoL nor security updates.