GNU Linux-libre 6.9 Released: More Deblobbing, Fixes Intel Graphics On GuC-Less Systems

[phoronix]

Phoronix: GNU Linux-libre 6.9 Released: More Deblobbing, Fixes Intel Graphics On GuC-Less Systems

Building off last night's release of Linux 6.9 stable, GNU Linux-libre 6.9-gnu has debuted as this kernel downstream that works on stripping out support for any drivers/hardware depending upon closed-source firmware/microcode and other alterations in the name of software freedom...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/GNU-Linux-libre-6.9

[Alliancemd]

Is anybody actually using this troll project?
Michael reports on it so often, you'd think it has the userbase of Ubuntu

[cynic]

Is anybody actually using this troll project?
Michael reports on it so often, you'd think it has the userbase of Ubuntu

I would actually like to give it a try. I just need to find out what would work and what not on my various hardware.

[Joe2021]

Is anybody actually using this troll project?

This is no troll project to me at all. Regardless of user base, it still acts as a "fleet in being".

Thanks for your work, guys!

[andyprough]

They have worked around the Intel i915 driver behavior how it's handling the GuC micro-controller firmware and such that it will hopefully be working for Intel graphics platforms not dependent upon the GuC firmware or other firmware blobs.

I've been using the release candidates for Linux-libre 6.9, and graphics acceleration is now working with Intel Xe graphics whereas it wasn't without guc firmware on kernel versions 6.8 and prior. I don't have any system with Arc graphics yet, not sure how Arc will be affected, but I'm hopeful for a similar result.

[bug77]

Is anybody actually using this troll project?
Michael reports on it so often, you'd think it has the userbase of Ubuntu

Rumor has it both users are actually ecstatic about this release.

Joking aside, what Joe2021 said, fleet in being.

[andyprough]

Regardless of user base, it still acts as a "fleet in being".

"Fleet in being" would imply something that's never used but acts as a deterrent. I don't know if I agree with that. Debian has defaulted to a completely free kernel for many years to my knowledge, and it has a huge user base. Linux-libre is a bit more strict than Debian, but there isn't a large difference. Most free software advocates I've talked to over the years say that the Debian kernels are free enough, but that they prefer to use Linux-libre when it's available. That's been my approach since about 2016, and I'm always using new-ish equipment and have never been stuck without the ability to boot or run the system or get my work done.

Also [and we as a community have discussed this previously in these Linux-libre threads] the linux kernel project itself has been removing non-free bits for years and accepting some changes that were upstreamed by Linux-libre, so there is a long-term convergence that's occurring. Someday there might be no Linux-libre kernel because the mainline kernel is already libre itself.

[BesiegedAce]

Is anybody actually using this troll project?
Michael reports on it so often, you'd think it has the userbase of Ubuntu

While I don't personally care about it, it's hardly a troll project. Besides, Michael reports on a ton of stuff when they update, so your argument is bizarre.

[FireBurn]

They haven't cleaned anything up though, they've just made drivers no longer work...

[andyprough]

They haven't cleaned anything up though, they've just made drivers no longer work...

And yet graphics acceleration now works with Intel Xe graphics whereas it did not previously. So maybe the Intel updates to the 6.8 and 6.9 kernels now give working graphics without the guc firmware?