Subj : Re: Windows vs Linux
To   : boraxman
From : tenser
Date : Sat Apr 23 2022 03:09:11

On 22 Apr 2022 at 08:51p, boraxman pondered and said...
 
 bo>  te> Just running Linux on a tiny fraction of the overall computer
 bo>  te> does not make "freedom" in the FSF sense.  You do you, but let
 bo>  te> me know when you can see your storage device's firmware or CPU
 bo>  te> microcode.  The next major battle in this front has shifted to
 bo>  te> firmware, because Linux already won.
 bo> 
 bo> You haven't won anything if the kernel sits underneath a prioprietary,
 bo> locked down wall garden.  As I said, I don't care one iota if my TV runs
 bo> Linux, if the TV is locked down anyway.

I don't think you understand.   It's not what's _on top_ of the
kernel that limits you using your computer how you see fit, it's
what is _underneath_ the kernel.  Many millions of instructions
are run by hidden microcontrollers in a modern desktop system
before the x86 cores even come out of reset; many billions of
x86 instructions run before the bootloader you've installed is
even started.  Hell, millions of x86 instructions run on Intel
processors before you've even turned on DRAM.

But you ask, what have you won?  Well, if that allows someone to
do some useful work, you've won quite a bit.

 bo> Why should I want the kernel to succeed?

I have no idea.  You seem to be worried about someone taking away
your "freedom" to muck with whatever Linux distribution you've
installed.  I'm merely pointing out that that's already a niche
use case, even within the wider Linux community.  That said, did
your chosen distro switch to systemd?  Did you agree with that?
Do you think you could switch to, say, OpenRC or even back to SysV
init or whatever?

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