my family want me to install non-free software

53 respostas [Última entrada]
Sjors
Desconectado
Joined: 01/11/2015

If the laptop is not yours, it's probably up to your family to decide what they want to do with the system.
If you're not willing to install the software for them because you feel it's ethically wrong, let them set it up themselves.

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

its more i feel if i can help it then its moral to install libre
software they dont care whats on it as long as it works

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 10/31/2014

tomlukey - netflix you substitute with popcorn time
the football games.. well it is not easy but it can be done. you can stream them with vlc - you have to find the addresses and that's no easy task.
It's been a while since I used it to stream sports -
https://code.google.com/p/tv-maxe/

it's a very nice program by a romanian developer. You find the address and you save it in tvmaxe and you can stream tv..
the problem is those addresses change often :(

http://www.tvonlinestreams.com/

there you can find streaming addresses

p.s - if the movies on popcorn are not enough for you you can stream whatever you want with qbittorrent or any other client that supports sequential downloading

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014
JadedCtrl
Desconectado
Joined: 08/11/2014
tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

oh thanks!

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

its licenesed under the gplv3
why is it not in trisquels repo's??

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

I don't like how the one at popcorn-time.se has different version numbers for binaries on different systems. Does anyone know what this means? I get the feeling that the developers of this particular fork don't care much about GNU/Linux.

This fork seems to me to be better:

https://popcorntime.io/

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

i cant find the source code on that website
do you know were to find it?

i wanted to build this program from source
and find it weird that theres dosent seem to be a source code download

JadedCtrl
Desconectado
Joined: 08/11/2014

The source code is here:
http://popcorn-time.se/source.html

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

dose anyone know how to build it?
the build instructions are only for
o$x and m$ windows

theres no makefile
and when i try to compile it like

g++ main.cpp this happens:
gui/main.cpp:1:24: fatal error: QApplication: No such file or directory
#include
^
compilation terminated.

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

This is the source code to the fork at popcorn-time.se, not the fork at popcorntime.io. It's a different codebase.

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

There's an odd icon on the top-right. It leads to here:

https://git.popcorntime.io/stash/projects

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 10/31/2014

this is the page https://popcorntime.io

ADFENO
Desconectado
Joined: 12/31/2012

11-01-2015 19:23:48 name at domain:
> my family want me to setup a laptop next to there tv
> that will let them view football and netflix
>
> the problem is to view the football games i need adobe
flash(gnash will not
> work)
> and non-free javascript and drm to use netflix
>
> i have tried explaining to them why netflix and adobe flash
are bad
> but they do not seem to care too much
> and they will install m$ windows
> if i dont get gnu/linux to do this
>
> i rely dont like running non-free programs or drm media
> i am only doing this as they will install windows otherwise.
>
> dose anyone of a way or the most libre way
> to run adode flash programs(that dont work with gnash)
> and play netflix?

If the laptop has a free operating system, and is the only
computer available for use, then we **do** have a problem.

Otherwise, since they didn't care to pay attention, I would
simply suggest you to not do this favor/service.

Respectfully, Adonay.
Have a nice day.

--
Assinatura automática – português brasileiro:
– Site pessoal: http://adfeno.mooo.com/
– Favor não enviar-me documentos do Microsoft Office ou
Apple
iWork. Ao invés disso, envie documentos em
OpenDocument!
http://fsf.org/campaigns/opendocument/
– Se eu não te desejar um bom dia em meus e-mails, minhas
postagens, ou meus comentários; isto significa que estes
foram
enviados por terceiros.

Automatic signature – North American English:
– Personal website: http://adfeno.mooo.com/
– Please do not send me Microsoft Office or Apple iWork
documents. Instead, send OpenDocument documents!
http://fsf.org/campaigns/opendocument/
– If I don't wish you a nice day in my emails, my posts, or
my
comments; this means that these were sent by third parties.

Dave_Hunt

I am a member!

Desconectado
Joined: 09/19/2011

I have to agree with post #1 here. If the machine is not yours, let them do as they wish, assuming you have explained your choices and desire to install only software that respects their freedoms. Let them install Win, a non-free GNU/Linux, whatever, and take full responsibility for it.

marioxcc
Desconectado
Joined: 08/13/2014

I agree with Sjors and Dave_Hunt.

tomlukeywood: It's sad to see that your family insist that you do something you don't want to, and for a good reason. That's something unethical from them. Don't fell compelled to help anyone with something they insist on using, despite you telling them that it does no good and doesn't leads anywhere. You have your right to refuse, your familiars ought to stop insisting since you mentioned that you don't want to do that. Note that this applies in general, not only for installing proprietary software. I hope that your familiars will reconsider their behavior towards you.

I have heard about Popcorn Time though I haven't used it. Maybe it does what your familiars want. However, given their rudeness of insisting that you do something you don't want to, they probably deserve that you refuse to help, even if you find a free software program that does what they want. It's up to you of course. If you don't want to be confrontational in refusing to install proprietary software for them, then after explaining why you don't use it, you can say that in addition you don't know how to install it, since you don't use it (Which is true as far as we know, because you're asking in this forum for how to do it).

If you chose to yield to the pressure and install proprietary software you must seek help elsewhere. We don't support proprietary software, see the community guidelines linked from every page in this forum. Some distributions support proprietary software thinking that they will help their uses. Some users may feel that they need to use proprietary software (However, “to need” is subjective and often misused as if it was objective; see <http://ebb.org/bkuhn/blog/2010/08/09/have-to-use.html>) and the developers of these distributions may agree and facilitate the installation of that software. That's a mistake. If users see that the community helps them with free software but not proprietary software, that adds a practical point in favor of free software. To support proprietary software or something else which is also unethical wastes that opportunity to add a practical point for the ethical option, and helps to perpetuate that unethical action.

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

It's important that if someone tries to give you an ultimatum like "get this system to work this particular way or I will use some other system", you don't take it as a personal offense. Even if they're "threatening" to use a proprietary system like Windows or Mac OS X. Keep in mind, what they will be doing is giving up their own freedom. If they try to make this out to be a threat, you should point out that it is they who will be restricted by a draconian EULA if they do this, not you, and that the only reason you don't want them to do that is because you care about them.

Whatever you do, don't bend over backwards trying to convince people who don't care about freedom to use a more freedom-respecting OS. If they accept a libre OS like Trisquel, great for them. If they agree with the libre software movement, even better. In the end, though, many people will make the foolish choice to use Windows or some other proprietary OS, and you have to accept that.

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 10/31/2014

Whatever you do, don't bend over backwards trying to convince people who don't care about freedom to use a more freedom-respecting OS.

very intelligent sentence.I agree completely with you!
It is sad to see someone you care about use windblows, but it is their freedom to not be free

a_slacker_here
Desconectado
Joined: 06/29/2013

I love how you take every oportunity to make fun of "Windblows" in the majority of sentences you write.

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

i am assuming theres no legal way to acsess netflix with libre software??

i think i will install trisquel with adobe flash and the non-free netflix application for gnu/linux
its sad i am doing this but if i dont they will be running the same programs
but on a much worse operating system(m$ windows)

so this is the best thing i can do

i think sometimes if pepole dont understand or care
you have to chose the best of the worst options

if anyone dose know of any way to acsess netflix
with libre software please leave a comment!

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

Netflix uses digital restriction mechanisms, and it's not feasible to come up with a way to break the handcuffs, because they can be changed on a whim. So no libre software can access Netflix videos.

linuxbookpro
Desconectado
Joined: 03/18/2012

If I were doing this for family I would install as few non-free packages as possible and then load the system up with Free Software. Sure it's not ideal but it's easier to convert people to Free Software when they've been using a mostly free system.

This way you get them hooked on Free Software philosphy and eventually they'll stop using flash and other non-free options over time.

TheAngel
Desconectado
Joined: 10/13/2014

You can install a different OS in a separate disk. Then your family can use another OS with a non-libre setup

Magic Banana

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 07/24/2010

You can as well do that with several partitions on one single disk.

onetechbuddy
Desconectado
Joined: 05/26/2014

I agree with you. That is the best thing to do. My sister needs adobe flash to play games on Facebook but I don't use either. I installed Antergos on another partition and let her use it.

And tomlukeywood, in future if they want the worst option have a bootable Gnu\Linux device ready because the Wind will wipe out everything in its vicinity when it blows. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 10/31/2014

I've been streaming the movies that are not listed on popcorn using qbittorrent..I like old movies and many of them I can't find in poppp. I just found out that you can do the same using popcorn-time - all you need to do is copy a magnet link and paste it (ctrl + v) in popcorn-time !!

poweeeeeeeeer
:)

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 10/31/2014

you are welcome heather. sharing is caring!
:)

sleepruim
Desconectado
Joined: 01/16/2015

Hi all,

I am sort of in the same situation as the topic starter. I have been using GNU/Linux for a while now. Started with Ubuntu, but switched to Mint after the Amazon implementations. Now I started reading the fsf and RMS websites and I agree with their points of view. I wanted to try one of the complete free distro's and installed BLAG on an old Lenovo T60. Works fine, lthough I do need an external wifi card but found an old Linksys Wireless G adapter which works.

At the moment we are using a Macbook (a mistake, please do not judge me ;-)) on which I installed Mint (including propriatary drivers for the NVIDIA card and prop. codecs). I am looking for a new laptop and am thinking of buying this one:

https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/humboldt-penguin-gnu-linux-notebook

and run Trisquel 7 on it (tried it on the Lenovo but the graphics messed up after I closed and opened the lid, that i why I tried BLAG) and go for a completely free laptop.

Now I have three problems which i need to sort out before making this step:

1. My wife needs to use citrix to connect to her work. I am yet to find a free alternative
2. My children (4 and 6) like to play games on the computer. They play old DOS games in DOSBOX (is that okay from a "free" point of view?) but also flash games.
3. We like to watch public television programs from this site: http://www.npo.nl/ which uses flash (although they mention a html5 player coming soon) I tried opening the streams in video players but they do not work.

Any idea on those?

Thanks in advance!
Jasper

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

> 1. My wife needs to use citrix to connect to her work. I
> am yet to find a free alternative

It looks to me like Citrix is a company, not a program. Which program is it?

If it's something that allows her to access a desktop remotely, maybe she could use VNC? Depends on her employer's policy, too.

> 2. My children (4 and 6) like to play games on the
> computer. They play old DOS games in DOSBOX (is that okay
> from a "free" point of view?) but also flash games.

Running DOS programs in DOSBox still runs those programs' code, so if that code is proprietary, you're obviously running proprietary software.

Personally, I'd recommend you show them some libre games. Trisquel has some, and there's also the Libre Game Wiki:

http://libregamewiki.org

Sachin
Desconectado
Joined: 06/02/2012

I think you mean your wife uses citrix app server or something I think
they use rdp, try using remmina.

Magic Banana

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 07/24/2010

GCompris is for your kids: http://gcompris.net/index-nl.html

And it is in Trisquel's repository! :-)

sleepruim
Desconectado
Joined: 01/16/2015

Thanks Heather and Magic banana!

installed Minetest and Celestia. I will show him tonight! He has played Minecraft (installed it on a Rasp) and he loves it so I'm sure he will be pleased.
He likes platform games so I showed him Commander Keen. I found Clonekeen as a replacement:

http://clonekeen.sourceforge.net/?nav=sshots

He also likes to play games from the Lego site, but they are all flash based.
On this age they will play what you give them so luckily I still have some influence ;-)

My Daughter likes those games where you can dress a doll, but also puzzles and coloring. I think Tux Paint and gcompris will fill that gap nicely

0AD is perhaps a bit too difficult, although now I have a new game to play (loved Ages of Empires when I was young)

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

For platformers, I can recommend a few in particular:

- Barbie Seahorse Adventures (package seahorse-adventures in Trisquel 7)

- Secret Maryo Chronicles (package smc in Trisquel; you probably also want smc-music, for music)

- Tux Strikes Back -- a SuperTux Milestone 1 (package supertux-stable in Trisquel) world. Get it here: http://www.christian-schaefers.de

- Alex the Allegator 4 (package alex4 in Trisquel)

- SuperTux (package supertux for the development version, or supertux-stable for Milestone 1) is pretty good, but it's been in development hell for the past decade, so I'd expect little progress on it in the future.

quantumgravity
Desconectado
Joined: 04/22/2013

Alex the Allegator is really awesome, and so is supertux (and supertux 2 i as far as I remember).

Though it is a controversal topic, i want to point out that people actually make mods and hacks of old snes/nes roms and share them with the community, so they are exercising freedom 2 and 3. Freedom one is a precondition for this anyway.
I guess none of those freedoms are really granted by law, but I don't know of anybody who ever got in trouble with those old games. You can play them with a free software emulator.
For me, they are acceptable from a freedom perspective but for other people here they are not, so it's your decision.

However, I'm fully convinced that they are not the same thing as proprietary software and that's the reason why i mention them here.
The Snes and Nes offers the greates game classics ever made. Personally, i think that modern games can't compete.

You can install zsnes from the trisquel repos, and also fceu.
You surely want a graphical frontend for the latter one, maybe fceux, but i'm not sure if it is in the repos.

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

I once asked RMS what he would think of ROM hacking if copyright weren't a factor. He refused to consider it because it's a theoretical scenario that won't happen for several decades, but based on what he did say, I don't think he would consider ROM hacking as it's currently done to be good enough. He suggested that some properly commented assembly code would have to be derived from the binaries for it to be considered libre. I'm not sure if I agree or not.

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

1.
if your wife NEEDS that application for work then
if you MUST use it you can see if it runs in wine:
https://www.winehq.org/download/

but i hope her employer will let her use a alternate method to connect to work
if not then there may be pepole on this fourm who know more about that application than me and i reccomend asking before you install a unethical program.

2.
there are many good libre software games here is a post i made listing some:
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/wa-can-change-not-one-day#comment-62064

non-libre dos games normally are less harmfull than programs like adobe flash but still unethical and not libre

but you may find some libre dos games for example doom is now licensed under the gpl the levels are still proprietry though so freedoom was made:
https://freedoom.github.io/

if your kids play flash games then the chances are they will have to play the libre games avalible:
http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Category/Game

but i relise giving up games is not always a easy thing :(
*cries*...

3.
thats not something i know too much about i reccomend starting a form topic dedicated to the question

JadedCtrl
Desconectado
Joined: 08/11/2014

Note that a fair amount of (Older, about 2007 or so) Flash games still work with Gnash, so they won't have to give up entirely on Flash games.

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

the majority of flash applications are non-free
if pepole set out to make libre software there main platform is not normally flash!

sleepruim
Desconectado
Joined: 01/16/2015

Thanks for your comments!

Regarding citrix, I need a progam to open .ica files. Citrix has GNU versions available, just not libre.
Thanks for the list of games, i will have a look. I know about some of them, but I'm a bit worried about letting my kid play doom already ;-)

I will continue my research.

tomlukeywood
Desconectado
Joined: 12/05/2014

i loved doom when i was a kid(12 years old+)

but not too good for a 4 and 6 year old

diddnt see that bit in your post!

also you could try running it at the lowest resoulution avalible at the time then they would not beable to make out the violence!:
youtube-dl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4KxqGsg4EQ

onpon4
Desconectado
Joined: 05/30/2012

I think Batman Doom is OK for kids. It does have blood and violence, but not very much. (Note: it's not libre culture, but it runs on libre Doom engines; preferably, use PrBoom or PrBoom+.)

alimiracle
Desconectado
Joined: 01/18/2014

Many of my friends want to play free baseball
Unfortunately there is no baseball game free so far

t3g
t3g
Desconectado
Joined: 05/15/2011

I know there's http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2014/09/netflix-linux-html5-nss-change-request but Trisquel purges Chromium, which is considered free software but Trisquel blocks it anyways.

Your best best is Ubuntu. If the above method doesn't work, there's always Chromium and the pepperflashplugin-nonfree package under Ubuntu 14.04 and above.

JadedCtrl
Desconectado
Joined: 08/11/2014

I'm pretty sure it's purged because Chromium recommends non-free plugins.

Magic Banana

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Desconectado
Joined: 07/24/2010

That and because the license of some code is unclear: https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=28291

Calinou
Desconectado
Joined: 03/08/2014

Chromium is not in Trisquel repositories for the following reasons:
- it recommends non-free extensions,
- it is too linked to Google's proprietary services,
- there is licensing uncertainty over certain files.

YoHooComics
Desconectado
Joined: 07/17/2013

It's their choice. They can give up their freedom if they want to. But if you care about them, you will try to protect them.