Did Google just make a blobless kernel for the Rasberry Pi 3...?
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You may have heard about Google's new kernel, Magenta. I recently saw a blog post about it running on the RPi3, and I was curious to see if it was blobbed to hell like the Linux kernel for the same hardware. To my surprise, it doesn't appear to be, and the only things that aren't working are WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPU acceleration. Link to the Git page (beware, nonfree JavaScript ahead!)
I can't look into everything right now, as I'm on mobile, but if someone could look closer at the compiled blobs from the first step in compiling l that would be great.
[url=https://fuchsia.googlesource.com/magenta/+/master/docs/targets/rpi3.md]Git Page[/URL]
My bad, that's the documentation page... This is what I meant to link: https://github.com/fuchsia-mirror/magenta
It looks promising! Unfortunately, though, the kernel isn't the problem (as far as I know, anyway) that prevents the RPi from even booting with 100% free software: it's the boot-up firmware that has to be loaded before the kernel. This is beyond the OS's control, and as far as I can tell is not being worked on outside of the unfortunately incomplete effort at https://github.com/christinaa/rpi-open-firmware.
I'm fairly certain there's a replacement included in Fuchsia. I saw something about a free booting firmware as well. I'm home now with my RPi3 right in front of me, so I'll read the documentation, give it a shot and then post my findings here.
If so, that would be amazing! Let's hope this turns out to be what is needed.
Unfortunately, the installation instructions reveal on re-reading that there isn't a replacement. Step 5 of https://fuchsia.googlesource.com/magenta/+/master/docs/targets/rpi3.md#Installing requires downloading a 'start.elf' file from the Raspberry Pi firmware repository on GitHub and copying it to the boot partition. This file is the GPU blob-loader.
EDIT: It appears bootcode.bin is merely the loader, and the actual offending blob is start.elf.
I am a member!
Fuchsia is NOT a good thing.
Eben Moglen talked about it at LibrePlanet.
https://media.libreplanet.org/u/libreplanet/m/the-free-software-movement-in-the-age-of-trump/
Indeed, Fuchsia isn't a good thing, the loss of copyleft in smartphones
(even if today not fully compliant) could represent a real loss for
free/libre software movement.
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How? Is not like Fuchsia is proprietary software.
It is not like GPv2 prevents Tivotization of devices. And Smartphones are not libre at all.
So... What is there to be lost?
I largely agree- with Torvald's refusal to add legal weight to his license, the significance of copyleft in this case seems to be rather limited (although I'm no copyright lawyer- please correct any misconceptions displayed here).
On the other hand, using Linux may at least lead/bind companies to release any additions they make to the source code. In this sense, every switch made by a large corporation from Linux to Fuschia (or is the kernel Magenta?) is a loss to the free software community.
Tivoization is a problem, for sure-- but as it stands, LineageOS and AplineLinux developers (etc) only have to work around the hardware/software restrictions on flashing a new kernel.
Having to work against those *and* now even having the kernel, ports like that will be very difficult and more time-consuming, and upgrading to newer OS and kernel versions on ports will
be more difficult.
The loss of copyleft in the smartphone field would be no small loss.
Well, it's precisely because of the advantages of copyleft for the end
user that it's important to keep it, even if the license doesn't prevent
digital handcuffs (lock down).
In *my* opinion, it would also be benefical if Linux switches to GNU GPL
3+. However, this is a wild and *personal* guess. I did not study the
implications of such switch.
There are of course other issues to consider, but since I'm not a
lawyer, and not entirely aware of other things to consider it might be a
good idea to contact Software Freedom Conservancy and Software Freedom
Law Center about this Android case and Fuchsia.
I am a translator!
Moglen is a king. That vid you linked is highly recommended. +1
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