Re: [gNewSense-users] Add/Remove... suggestion to install or work with non-free software

[Karl Goetz]

On Sun, 24 May 2009 15:38:09 -0400
Ted Smith <address@hidden> wrote:

> On Sun, 2009-05-24 at 17:08 +0930, Karl Goetz wrote:
> > On Sun, 24 May 2009 10:22:50 +0300
> > Niklas Cholmkvist <address@hidden> wrote:
> > 
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> > > 
> > > In the program "Windows Wireless Drivers" it says in the
> > > description:
> > > > allowing an easy way to install Windows wireless drivers.
> > > 
> > > Do you think it should be removed?
> > 
> > ndiswrapper? yes it should be. the current code doesnt seem to cut
> > it, so feel free to submit a patch which works.
> > kk
> 
> I'm unsure of what you're saying. Are you sarcastically suggesting
> that ndiswrapper should be improved, or are you agreeing that it
> should be removed from the repo?
> 

I'm agreeing it should be removed.

> Ndiswrapper itself is free software. It might function as a wrapper
> for non-free software, but removing a program based on what it *might*
> handle as input seems too far. There's no *guarantee* that the drivers
> ndiswrapper handles are non-free just like there's no guarantee the
> programs that Wine handles are non-free.  

ndiswrapper exists purely to load non-free software. I'm certainly not
aware of any free drivers that ndiswrapper could load. Have you any
examples?

In the case of wine there *are* free software tools that are only
available for Windows. Because of these wine is left in the
repositories.
kk

-- 
Karl Goetz, (Kamping_Kaiser / VK5FOSS)
Debian user / gNewSense contributor
http://www.kgoetz.id.au
No, I won't join your social networking group

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