Non-free drivers, mp3, gnome or lxde

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arbuzik88
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Iscritto: 08/19/2013

Hello! I installed Trisquel release and hope will use it on my old notebook. I got a few questions - if anybody can give me some hints I'll be very glad, cause I'm new to Linux.

I got dell inspiron 1525 with
SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio,
Intel GM965 Express Chipset Family and
Dell Wireless 1370/1470/1390/1490/1505/1395 WIFI module. What should I download and where to start this hardware working properly?

Also how can I add the non-free ubuntu repositories to download codecks or drivers from there?

And emm, don't bite me, but I like the macos look, now I got Trisquel mini with LXDE, so is there any way to transform it's look into macos? (Icons/theme/sounds/cursors)?:)))

Thank you:)

lloydsmart

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Iscritto: 12/22/2012

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You won't find help installing the non-free repos from Ubuntu on this forum. It is possible to do, but Trisquel is intended to be an entirely free distro. If you're going to use non-free repos, you might as well just install Ubuntu.

Your intel graphics will work fine under free software, and you can also play mp3s with no need to install any proprietary stuff. (Although mp3 is a patent-encumbered format, there are free software programs that can play it).

As for the WIFI, I'd suggest that you obtain a wifi dongle that will work in the free software world. I can recommend one from Think Penguin: https://libre.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-usb-adapter-gnu-linux-tpe-n150usb

This dongle has full support under Trisquel, and is certified by the FSF as a device the "Respects Your Freedom (RYF)".
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arbuzik88
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Iscritto: 08/19/2013

Oh ok! Thank you for answer. Yes I mean proprietary drivers, not software. And I also found that Trisquel is ablle to play mp3 files:) As for WiFi it says "firmware missing" - is there any way to obtain this firmware or the only one is to buy another wifi dongle, as you mentioned??
Thank you

lembas
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Iscritto: 05/13/2010

We don't support anything proprietary here, Trisquel GNU/Linux is about freedom.

What is your output of

lspci -nn
arbuzik88
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Iscritto: 08/19/2013

I understand that:)
My output is: pastebin.com/LQnpNQuH. I found the drivers for broadcom (wich is my wifi adapter), but how to "setup" them?":(

jxself
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Iscritto: 09/13/2010

If you want working WiFi, use this:
https://www.fsf.org/news/ryf-certification-thinkpenguin-usb-with-atheros-chip

It's certified by the FSF to respect your freedom.

You can also replace the internal WiFi card if you want to go that direction.

miga
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Iscritto: 09/17/2011

We will not help you install non-free software here, including drivers. If you absolutely need/want to use these drivers, there are plenty of other distros out there to use.

The 'firmware missing' issue that you're having is because your wi-fi card requires non-free firmware to operate. Our solution is buying an Atheros-based wi-fi card (you can find these on http://libre.thinkpenguin.com ). However, there might be another solution, and that is to use OpenFWWF (it looks like it supports your wi-fi card). This is a free software firmware.

arbuzik88
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Iscritto: 08/19/2013

OH! Good, thank you very much for answers! In future I will buy a new one:) Anyway I really like Trisquel distro as it's one of the lightest I've ever seen (among ~20 wich I tested on my notebook - this one works perfectly)
Thank you again:)

muhammed
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Iscritto: 04/13/2013

You understand why we don't help with non-free software/drivers on this forum right? We're not doing it to be mean ... we're doing it because we care about others.

Sometimes we assume that people understand why free vs non-free matters.

If you use proprietary software, your computer could be informing on you. One problem with proprietary software is that users cannot know what it does, beyond what's superficial.

The company that made it may assure you it respects privacy. You could take their word for it. Or you could use free software.

Free software is about certain freedoms; not price. Part of what it means to be free is that users can get full disclosure of the instructions that make up the program. This requirement for transparency means that people can audit it, and alert others to intrusive features.

There are other reasons. If you want, we'll gladly link you to a written explanation or a video of someone talking about it.

arbuzik88
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Iscritto: 08/19/2013

YES! I love this strategy too. Almost all software wich I have on my work PC (under Win) is opensource. I trust this programs more then proprietary ones (of course 99% of users won't check the whole code, but it's open:)))
IMO all software, dealing with privacy aspects (like e-mail clients, ftp-clients and others) NEED to be opensource. And when most of countries will check our PC for "pirated" software (some customs do now, maybe in future it will be our PC's at home) - then at least 70% of users will definitely use linux as their main OS

lembas
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Iscritto: 05/13/2010

>linux as their main OS

GNU/Linux

https://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html

quantumgravity
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Iscritto: 04/22/2013

> IMO all software, dealing with privacy aspects (like e-mail clients, ftp-clients and others) NEED to be opensource.

It's no use using a free email program if you connect to the internet with a non-free wireless-card ;)
What I want to tell you is:
if some privacy related programs are free software it's good but not sufficient.
Every non-free program is a weak point of our privacy which can be used to spy on us. We should try hard to keep the number of these points as small as possible;
many of us make compromises when things get to hard, for example many of us (including me) are using a non-free bios, and sometimes I have to accept to run non-free javascript.
But all those issues are on my list and I keep an eye on them.

muhammed
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Iscritto: 04/13/2013

Cool, arbuzik, you sounds really enthusiastic about this lol. I'd like to clarify some words in your post. Lots of people, including me, mix these words up:

Free vs Open Source:

Free refers to specific freedoms. Open source allows for proprietary parts. Open source can be 5% proprietary, or 55% ... there is no specific definition.

Open source is a good stepping stone, but it doesn't offer the benefits you saw in free software.

GNU and Linux:

GNU is an operating system. GNU is free software. Linux is one part of an operating system. Without the rest of the OS, you couldn't use a computer with Linux. Linux is open source (partly proprietary) software.

Linux is a good stepping stone, but it doesn't offer the benefits we see in GNU.

The Libre-Linux project removes the proprietary parts from Linux. (At least) one distro, Debian, offers an OS with GNU Hurd instead of Linux. There may be others.

Someone correct me if I got something wrong, please.

arbuzik88
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Iscritto: 08/19/2013

lembas: yes, when I mean linux, I mean GNU, I know that there are 1009^99 versions of Linux, like paid ones
trinux: yeeees:)) don't forget, I'm new here, and it was the 2'nd time in my life I installed GNU Linux. (1 time it was~4 years ago, I also chose Trisquel and 2 gnu distros then:))))

quantumgravity: "sometimes I have to accept to run non-free javascript"? What? JScript is opensource (except the encrypted code, but you can decrypt it anyway). And before worrying about your hardware, think about how many traces did you left in social networks and WWW and streets(cameras+mobile phone+android)... Even this message has piece of identity (your orfography, speech style etc). I'm not such crazy person to think about proprietary hardware, so non-free drivers is ok for me. And there are opensource hardware as I know. Anyway, I don't care for the terms - this is opensource and this is ok:)

quantumgravity
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Iscritto: 04/22/2013

" "sometimes I have to accept to run non-free javascript"? What? JScript is opensource (except the encrypted code, but you can decrypt it anyway)."

First of all, javascript is a script language; You can't say: this and this language is free or proprietary;
just the *programs* written in the language can be free or proprietary.
The programs written in javascript don't get compiled, so perhaps this is why you're confused and think every javascript program is free (or you call it "opensource") just because you can see the code. Unfortunately, this is not true.
Many javascript programs consist of "obfuscated" code which no one can read.
But even if the code is not obfuscated that doesn't mean it's free. It's only free with a proper free software licence. This is necessary so users can have control over their computer. For example, think of a commonly used javascript program like jquery; many webpages use jquery. What if the developers decide to build in malicious features in their next release?
What happens to the websites which really rely on this program? Without a proper free software licence, they are completely helpless, though they are able to see the code.
And unfortunately, not every encrypted code can be decrypted so easily.

> And before worrying about your hardware, think about how many traces did you left in social networks and WWW and streets(cameras+mobile phone+android)

I don't use social networks and care very much about how many traces I leave in the www. So yes, these are important things I consider as well; But we shouldn't stop here. Though solutions may not be perfect, what really matters is that there are people who think about those problems and keep on searching for better solutions.
Surveillance cameras should be fought with political resistance.
I avoid using my cell phone and hope I can stop someday completely.
Of course I leave traces in the WWW, but I try to minimize them.

> I'm not such crazy person to think about proprietary hardware, so non-free drivers is ok for me.

I don't think avoiding non-free hardware drivers or firmware blobs is "crazy".
I understand if someone has to make compromises and use some non-free firmware for a period of time because he can't afford to buy new hardware, but I think it's bad for him and I don't really understand why someone considers this as "ok". It's your pc and you deserve the freedom to have control over it. No one should treat you like this and force you to run a proprietary program.

> And there are opensource hardware as I know.

There are opensource drivers and firmware, though I prefer the term "free".
The term "opensource hardware" or "free hardware" is a bit confusing because the criteria for free software can't be applied on hardware ("freedom to copy the program and share it with your neighbour" - how should this be possible with hardware?).
So I hope I understood you well and we're talking about the software which is necessary to use the hardware.
Or do you mean documented hardware?

Magic Banana

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I am a translator!

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Iscritto: 07/24/2010

Your message does not make much sense. quantumgravity has already answered most of it. Here some additional link:

GNU almost is a whole operating system, i.e., a large amount of software to do anything with a computer. Linux only is a kernel, an essential component of an operating system but not an operating system. You cannot do anything with a sole kernel. For more information, see, for instance, this article.