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Still, I might never be able to understand the case +in the 70s, in which, according to Richard Stallman, every piece of software +is basically free. +</p> +<h2 id="tocanch1" class="tvis">Ideology vs Pragmatism</h2> +<p> +There are Linux distros<a id="n1" href="#note1" class="note">[1]</a> +whose software repository contains free software only (e.g. Trisquel & +Parabola). There are also distros that doesn't care much about licenses +(e.g. ArchLinux). Some distros falls between the two extremes: Debian +has a <code>main</code> section which is entirely made up of free software, +but it also has <code>contrib</code> and <code>non-free</code> +<a id="n2" href="#note2" class="note">[2]</a> sections in their repository, which can be added to the system +quite easily. +</p> +<p> +To most of us who do not have a requirement on every single piece of +software being free, we still have to use non-free components -- even to +make the toaster<a id="n3" href="#note3" class="note">[3]</a> fully working. For +example, non-free blobs in the Linux kernel and drivers. Using "free" distros +on these computers essentially cripple the core functionality of that +computer. If most users require non-free components, it makes sense that +the distro providers include them in the software repository. As a matter +of fact, I haven't met any user of a "free" distro outside of GNU. +<a id="n4" href="#note4" class="note">[4]</a> +</p> +<p> +Using a distro that provides proprietary software should not be considered +a sin to free software. +Actually it's a huge step towards freedom in today's world dominated by +proprietary software. In order to remind the user of this, it is the +responsibitliy for the distro provider to tell the user about the benefits +of free software and advocate them contributing to it. +</p> +<p> +Since I've got no mysophobia of proprietary software personally, I don't +really care about installing proprietary software on my mostly free system. +I prefer using free software whenever one is available. But if the use of +free software results in crippling the core functionality (e.g. removing +firmware blobs from the kernel causing WLAN cards made by Intel not +working), I may compromise and install a few pieces of proprietary software +(instead of using an external WLAN card like RMS). +<a id="n5" href="#note5" class="note">[5]</a> +</p> +<h2 id="tocanch2" class="tvis">Free Software vs "Normies"</h2> +<p> +The idea of free software won't spread widely if it fails on the "normies". +Everything about free software is a circlejerk of us <a href="https://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html">hackers</a> +if we ignore the "normies". Sadly that is just the case right now. +</p> +<p> +The major reason that free software fail to become daily driver of most +people is that probably most free software targets at "mega-nerds" instead +of the vast amount of computer "normies". These "normies" just use their +computers either to get their office work done or to browse the web +(sometimes both). In this sense, free software often offer terrible +experience: Linux distributions, if not pre-installed by device vendor, +often have bad out-of-box experience (either missing driver or firmware, +or the software requiring too much tweaks to make it actually usable). +Another example is window manager: the most popular window manager used +by desktop Linux users is i3, whose default interface is obscure to new +users and needs a lot of configuration before it suits the user. Only +people that are really keen on tweaking would do that. +</p> +<p> +Things are changing though. Some free software makers, for example the +GNOME Fundation, are striving to make free software more user-friendly +and fool-proof. They recently removed the ability to run executables +directly in the file manager to prevent the user from accently running +a malicious script that destroys their computer. +<a id="n6" href="#note6" class="note">[6]</a> +But in my opinion the components should remain customizable for the users +who "knows what they are doing". +</p> +<h2 id="tocanch3" class="tvis">"Free" vs "Open Source"</h2> +<p> +Richard Stallman has made multiple statements on how he dislikes the term +"Open Source". I pretty much simply repeat one of his points here. +</p> +<p> +"Free" and "Open Source" has a large part in common: in fact, being "free" +requires the software to be "open source". However the idea laying below +is very different: The term "open source" is currently being abused by +gigantic companies as a weasel word to avoid using "free". They often use +free component in their proprietary products and doesn't want to remind the +user that there is a free counterpart that doesn't take the freedom from +them. A famous example of this is Google Chrome and +Chromium. <a id="n7" href="#note7" class="note">[7]</a> Similarly, Microsoft "loves" Linux because it is "open source", +not because it is "free".<a id="n8" href="#note8" class="note">[8]</a> +</p> +<p> +On the other hand, Linus seems to be at the opposite end of it. +<a id="n9" href="#note9" class="note">[9]</a> +Pleased to learn that this world is never lack of diversity. +</p> +<h2 id="tocanch4" class="tvis">Free software in China</h2> +<p> +Free software is not having a good time in China: +</p> +<ul> +<li> +As Chinese use two distinct words for "free" as in beer and "free" as in +freedom, we should have faced less problems than the English-speaking +community. Sadly, almost all tranlators used the word for free beer when +translating "free software". +</li> +<li> +"Thanks" to the crappy copyright law in China, pirating software and +reverse engineering is explictly allowed with some restrictions, making +free software a lot less known to the general public +<a id="n10" href="#note10" class="note">[10]</a>. +That same crappy copyright law also gave chance to massive GPL violations. +Examples: <a href="https://linux-sunxi.org/GPL_Violations">AllWinner</a>, +<a href="https://www.xda-developers.com/gplv2-and-its-infringement-by-xiaomi/">XiaoMi</a> +and <a href="https://www.xda-developers.com/have-you-paid-your-linux-kernel-source-license-fee/">MediaTek</a><a id="n11" href="#note11" class="note">[11]</a>. +</li> +<li> +As China wasn't actually involved in the software industry until proprietary +software has almost taken the whole thing, there are misconceptions +regarding free software in the Chinese community. For example, the +definition of 'source code' in <i>A Dictionary of Current Chinese</i> +claims "protecting the source code helps to lower the chance of being +hacked". +</li> +<li> +Software engineering college in China only teach the process of proprietary +software engineering. Although they utilize free software a lot through +out the college, they do not promote the use of free software for 'serious +work', often putting an emphasis on the strengths of proprietary software. +</li> +</ul> +<p> +As currently the entire Chinese software industry is really addicted (and +devoted) to AI, ML, IoT and their 'made in China' nonsense, chance of +solving these problems seems bleak. Also Chinese doesn't do stuff that +makes no money, but ... +</p> +<h2 id="tocanch5" class="tvis">Monetization of Free Software</h2> +<p> +... free software <i>can</i> make money. Ethically. +</p> +<p> +By saying ethically I am not promoting the act of getting a maga-sponsor +and just doing anything they requested. The only ethical way for free +software to monetize is probably paid support and donation. Red Hat is a +well-known company that made sheer amount of money out of free software. +<sup><s>Sarcasm. You should have known it.</s></sup> +However, not everyone would succeed following that route (even Microsoft +failed to figure out how to make it work /s). Thus the choice for the vast +number of smaller free software projects would be donation. So why is +accepting donation a good idea? +</p> +<ul> +<li>The user donates what ever they want (money, hardware, code, +translation etc.) voluntarily, and...</li> +<li>There's no cap on donation amount, so those who got the fortune may +donate <a href="https://dot.kde.org/2018/02/19/kde-receives-200000-usd-donation-pineapple-fund">a good deal of stuff</a>.</li> +<li>Those who don't yet have the ability to donate would not be triggered. +More over, the spirit of "free as in freedom" remains intact. +</li> +</ul> +<p> +But when things come to money, people starts getting greedy. +Don't let your greed ruin the entire project. +</p> +<h2 id="tocanch6" class="tvis">Final words</h2> +<p> +This article is full of my immature thoughts and rants. Fortunately due to +the low popularity of this site, they would not be exposed too much. +Writing such a long article is really a pain in my ass though. +</p> +<p> +If you have different opinions, please consider +<a href="/#about">telling me about it</a> and probably correcting me if I +made a mistake. +</p> +</article> +<!-- +vim: syntax=html +--> +</div><br><hr> + <div class="TText" id="notediv" style="font-size:80%;"><span class="TText"><a id="note1" href="#n1">[1]</a>: By saying "Linux distros" in this article, +I am refering to GNU/Linux distributions, except Alpine Linux.<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note2" href="#n2">[2]</a>: They use their very own guideline (DFSG) to determine whether +a piece of software is free or not. The most famous difference between +DFSG and GNU's guideline is that according to DFSG, GFDL is a nonfree +license, which, in my opinion, is pretty ridiculous. +<i>Such ideology, much hilarious.</i> +<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note3" href="#n3">[3]</a>: i.e. computer<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note4" href="#n4">[4]</a>: There's one exception: Pure OS from Purism, which is tailored for +their Librem devices. So it runs without proprietary software on their +devices just find. Of course I haven't seen one of those either because +I live in China. But I expect my next laptop to be a Librem 13 as long as +they improve the battery life and make it thinner -- at least on par with the +ThinkPad X line products.<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note5" href="#n5">[5]</a>: Yup I may never program OpenGL on a libreboot-ed ThinkPad T400 +or X200. Those ThinkPads were a classic but perform pretty bad whenever +I do CPU-intense jobs. +<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note6" href="#n6">[6]</a>: +This is half truth, half sarcasm. It <i>does</i> make nautilus fool-proof +(kind of). +GNOME is always removing customizability from their desktop environment +recently, which I can't tell is good or not. This indeed reveals the +dictatorial decision-making process inside the development cycle. +<b>However, <a href="https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/nautilus/commit/ce73de0c98f1d32cdafc40775ee59692f5a7288d"> +this change has been reverted a week ago</a>. Cringy.</b> +<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note7" href="#n7">[7]</a>: Chromium is actually a pretty nasty example of free +software: it contains tracking code from Google. Efforts have been made to +strip those from the browser. The resulting product is called "Iridium". +<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note8" href="#n8">[8]</a>: Probably because Microsoft doesn't know +how to make profit with free software.<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note9" href="#n9">[9]</a>: +<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw58LZTuZjA">a</a> +<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b89fKsT1i7s">b</a> +<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note10" href="#n10">[10]</a>: also making China an ideal place to reverse engineer something /s. +<br></span><span class="TText"><a id="note11" href="#n11">[11]</a>: Taiwan (whether a part of +China or not. No politics here.) has better environment for free software in +general, but still horrible.<br></span></div> + <div id="insanch" style="height:3em;"></div> + <div id="footer" style=""> + <div id="pagesw" class="TText" style="width:100%;height:0.5em;"></div> + <div style="text-align:center;" class="TText"> + Proudly powered by SSBS <reduced style="font-size:70%;">(the static stupid blogging system)</reduced> 2.5 + <br> + Content licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. <span id="purgep" style="display:none;font-size:70%;">This page has passphrase(s) stored. 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