# Linux, Binary Blobs and Restricted Media

There is some interesting discussion over at [LWN ][1]about binary
blobs used in hardware drivers. The impetus was [this article][2], a
review of Fedora Core 6 that basically said "It sucks because it has
no support for modern-day web content".

> I appreciate the fact that distributions like Fedora Core are
> still focused on free-as-in-rights software, but today's Web
> content requires more proprietary browser plugins than yesterday's
> did, and today's hardware is increasingly designed to be dependent
> on proprietary binary blobs in the form of firmware and driver
> packages. Programmers are not falling over themselves to write
> free replacements for these things (or they are unable to because
> of a lack of documentation from hardware manufacturers), and the
> projects that do exist are non-operational and/or several
> generations behind current technology.

I can certainly [relate to this][3], but the anger is misguided. It
should be directed at the hardware vendors who refuse to release
specs and at the very least, allow unrestricted redistribution of
binary blobs. There are distributions that have tried to address
this issue. 

Debian, for example, [does not treat binary blobs as software][4],
and so allows then to be shipped with their distribution without
source code (for the upcoming Etch release, and assuming the blob
can be legally redistributed).

OpenBSD is probably at the [forefront of the fight against binary
blobs][5], some of their developers have invested [significant time
and energy][6] into writing blob-free drivers for closed
hardware. The list of supported wireless chipsets in the latest
OpenBSD release is impressive.

There are completely different issues at work when it comes to
web/media formats - that of patents and restrictive laws like the
DMCA. The former prohibits things like mp3 support from being
shipped with Fedora, the latter prohibits (in the US, anyway)
support for DVD decoding (hence playback).

Still, it's not that hard to get support for mp3 playback and DVD
decoding immediately after installation, [this page ][7]seems to be
the best available for FC6 at present. Ubuntu has a "restricted"
repository that can be accessed after installation, and there is
always [Easy Ubuntu][8].

One final point that has to be made, I've seen too many reviews that
harp on "ease of installation" (another point the aforementioned
review makes) - the truth is that modern Linux distributions are
much, much easier to install than say, Windows, and have better
hardware support out-of-the-box, thanks to the latest Linux
kernels. I think we're lucky the latest Red Hat and Ubuntu
installers work as well as they do. Post-install, the same hardware
that tends to be problematic under Linux requires a third-party
driver download under Windows. This issue of drivers in Windows
tends to get overlooked, because the vast majority of hardware you
buy comes pre-installed and pre-tested. Just take a look at the
driver download section of Dell's website if you want to see how
frightening the situation is.

As for web content, even under Windows you still have to install
flash, realplayer, and java plugins, if you want them.

[1]: http://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/209175/0a04432678a67270/
[2]: http://www.softwareinreview.com/cms/content/view/57
[3]: gopher://gopher.unixlore.net/0/articles/historical-blog-posts/20060709-adventures-in-linux-laptop-land.txt
[4]: http://lwn.net/Articles/196654/
[5]: https://web.archive.org/web/20080221192743/http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/bsd/2006/04/27/openbsd-3_9.html
[6]: https://web.archive.org/web/20080109223106/http://kerneltrap.org/node/6650/
[7]: https://web.archive.org/web/20081205192252/http://www.gagme.com/greg/linux/fc6-tips.php
[8]: https://web.archive.org/web/20080105010317/http://easyubuntu.freecontrib.org/
.