alternative DE repos truly free?
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When installing alternative desktop environments the Trisquel documentation suggests adding Ubuntu repositories to /etc/apt/sources.list .
Are those repositories truly free as in freedom if they are not part of the Trisquel project?
Which DE? Can you explain more about it?
Yes, Mate is one of them.
https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/installing-mate
tells you to: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/ppa and sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mate-dev/trusty-mate
But the procedure is very similar when installing XFCE4.12 instead of 4.10, which is in the Trisquel repositories.
I just don't like the idea of adding repositories from different non-free distributions to my sources.list file.
PPAs are not "Ubuntu repositories". They are not available in Ubuntu by default. Ubuntu users can add them in the same way as Trisquel users can (e.g., using 'sudo add-apt-repository' or through the "Other Software" tab of "Software & Updates" in the "System settings").
PPAs are "Personal Package Archive". Anybody can make one. And Canonical can host it. But the PPA neither is controlled by Trisquel nor by Ubuntu. It may include proprietary software or even malware. Even if it does not now, it could tomorrow along an apparently trifling update. Adding a PPA is trusting whoever is behind the PPA. If you do not trust him/her/them, then install from source...
While I am at it, I am also curious as to why Parabola GNU/Linux has so many more DEs (e.g. KDE, Rox, ...) available compared to Trisquel even though Ubuntu doesn't lack them.
I'd assume it's by design, allocation of resources, ease of maintenance or pure personal choice by the developer team.
Triskel is Trisquel with KDE. Choose a NetInstall and then fire 'sudo apt-get triskel triskel-recommended' to only have the KDE edition of Trisquel.
You can also install those packages on top of the regular edition or on top of Trisquel Mini. However, for every common task, you will end with two similar programs to achieve it: the one you got with the default install and the one chosen for Triskel. It is not a "problem" (you can have as many programs as you want) and you can remove the programs you least prefer. However, you may prefer the installation of the package "kde-plasma-desktop" (with only basic applications) or even "kde-workspace" (only the plasma interface) and then choose additional KDE applications one by one.
Thank you for all your replies!
I think I'll just sum up everything I understand:
The PPAs one can add to one's sources as described in the documentation are not controlled by Trisquel or Canonical and therefore are not safe in regard to freedom.
If one isn't happy with the default desktop environment it would hence be best to setup a netinstall and install one of the DEs available from the standard Trisquel repos like XFCE, KDE, LXDE, etc. to save oneself the pain of having to uninstall the default DE, which is some kind of GNOME flashback.
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