User:Hd scania/My editions in 2018 for ‘common distros’
1 Discussions in our Trisquel forums
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/writing-my-%E2%80%98common-distros%E2%80%99-us-2018
2 Linux
2.1 deb
Debian has switched to Linux-libre instead of nonfree Linux kernel as official one since ‘Wheezy’, and without contrib or nonfree pools Debian is sufficient to be an libre system.
However, If you are installing Debian but it asks to install nonfree firmware like iwlwifi, you must always refuse to install them.
Debian also has instructions to install nonfree firmware and dsnt block contrib or nonfree pools against mirrors.
Finally, The parts of contrib packages require nonfree deps we all dislike.
2.1.1 Devuan
Is an no-systemd Debian fork and focuses on software freedom, but unfortunately based on nonfree Linux kernel like Fedora and there are contrib and nonfree pools.
2.1.2 Ubuntu
A Debian fork clueless against freedom, and has have backdoors begging Amazon for sponsorsip years ago, and the PPA build system also doesn't censor against any possible nonfree packages. Unfortunately Ubuntu begins to support ZFS installation which is under CDDL but GPL-violated.
2.1.3 Linux Mint
As clueless against freedom as Ubuntu, but even unlike Ubuntu that Mint integrates nonfree packages against libre ones anywhere.
2.1.4 SteamOS
Vends Steam, the famous nonfree PC gaming portal, and the most of these games inside are nonfree.
2.2 Arch
Arch and any nonfree systems using pacman, the Arch package manager, integrate nonfree packages against libre ones everywhere including AUR, the Arch users' repositories of the build system.
Unfortunately Arch begins to support ZFS installation which is under CDDL but GPL-violated, like Ubuntu as for above.
For the libre pacman systems we only have Parabola and Hyperbola, Parabola is rolling and cutting edged but Hyperbola is LTS and stabilized.
2.3 Fedora
Like GNU systems or Debian or Devuan Fedora also focuses on freedom, one of the 4 core values before friendly, first, features, and has own free software guidelines against nonfree apps and more tight than Debian.
But unfortunately using the nonfree Linux kernel keeps Fedora against GNU endorsement.
2.3.1 CentOS
The same problem with Fedora and being an enterprising solution without nonfree apps. Below are differeneces against RHEL.
2.3.2 RHEL
Under the CentOS wiki CentOS aims to be compatible with RHEL but erasing nonfree, that means RHEL has no policies against nonfree, but also in fact RHEL ships Flash player and nonfree virtualizations like VirtualBox and VMWare.
2.4 Gentoo
From its forks namely Calculate and Sabayon targeted to newbies, Google Chrome and Flash player are found, which should be mostly also found under the stock Gentoo. The nonfree packages esp ones without sources are delivered as binaries.
The manuals for their packaging frontend Emerge and its backend Portage, are known to be obfuscated, which our Linux-libre kernel de-obfuscates against nonfree Linux kernel within liberations.
2.5 PCLinuxOS
Has instructions to install nonfree software from their official nonfree repo.
2.6 openSuSE
Is an instance what are missing in open source instead of free software, and has an non-oss pool standing for no sources available.
2.6.1 SLE
Just main and updates pools and without isolating to oss or non-oss, which you are nowhere to analyze what are nonfree.
2.7 urpmi
There are systems namely ROSA, Mageia, OpenMandriva using this packaging frontend, but all them have no guidelines against nonfree.
We have Uruk to simulate urpmi thru UPMS, the Uruk’s package managers simulator.
3 FreeBSD
Like our GNU systems, Fedora, Debian, or Devuan FreeBSD also focuses on freedom from its name, but unfortunately the FreeBSD kernel is nonfree and there are still very very few nonfree programs (though not as much as many Linux distro those are clueless to software freedom) in the FreeBSD ports packaging and build system. Not being under a copyleft license is also led to the unability to censor against nonfree forks like Sony PlayStation, WhatsApp, Apple’s macOS.
3.1 TrueOS and FreeNAS
Very very few very very limited nonfree programs like VirtualBox and Flash there are, unlike many nonfree Linux distro, but they are still not seperated against the main TrueOS channel. Unfortunately TrueOS and FreeNAS defaults to install on OpenZFS which is under CDDL but GPL-violated.
3.2 GhostBSD
A traditional desktop-oriented FreeBSD subproject, w/o any explicit guidelines against nonfree software, and also supports ZFS installations by default which even needs your hard drive to be emptied before installation w/o any respect to your personal data.
4 Redox
His official Github profiles and domain avoids to talk about nonfree software, even to instruct against them, and under an non-BSD permissive license, i.e. nowhere to track what are libre and what are nonfree.
5 Android
Android itself is a free software solution for the mobiles but unfortunately not under a copyleft license, which Android is nowhere to assess from its hardware vendors against nonfree libraries or bootloaders even kernels, in fact almost every Android mobiles are nonfree, letting the Replicant just hard to be supported for the recent hardware.
5.1 LineageOS
Being a famous custom ROM from the former CyanogenMod, with a width of supported hardware, but missing our freedom at all by being clueless to any nonfree stuff.
5.2 Any other custom ROMs
Like Lineage they are missing our core value of software freedom, even not needing to detailedly assess, which mobiles are anyway mostly designed to be watched against your freedom.
6 Non UNIX-like
6.1 ReactOS
Proposed to be the open m$win replacement, hence not expected to work against nonfree software.
6.2 FreeDOS
Proposed to continue MS/DOS that was orphanware before free software is come.
6.3 Haiku
Like DragonFlyBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD minority but unlikely even not UNIX-like, you are expected not having heard Haiku even though you are an computing pro, this extreme minority always keeps Haiku against the ability to work for free software.
