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Debian Libre Live Images Released for Software Freedom Lovers
https://9to5linux.com/debian-libre-live-images-released-for-software-freedom-lovers [9to5linux.com]
One advantage is that you don’t have to agree to the distribution terms and usage license agreements of the non-free blobs.
The Debian Project released today a new project called Debian Libre Live Images that allows you to run and install the Debian GNU/Linux operating system without non-free software.
Back in 2022, a few months before the release of Debian 12 “Bookworm”, the Debian Project decided to ship non-free firmware packages from the “non-free-firmware” Debian repository on the official Debian ISO images, forcing users to use proprietary software.
But this change was needed to ensure Debian runs on as many hardware platforms as possible. Still, Debian provided users with a way to disable the detection and use of non-free firmware by setting the firmware=never boot parameter to the Debian Installer media [9to5linux.com].
As of today, the Debian project has created the Debian Libre Live Images project to also provide users who don’t want to use non-free/proprietary firmware on their Debian installations with live ISO images built without any non-free software, suitable for running and installing Debian.
The Debian Libre Live Images are available for download from the official website [debian.net] only for Intel/AMD 64-bit x86 CPUs (amd64) systems for now and are similar to the official Debian live images, but they don’t currently ship with a preinstalled graphical environment, yet they include the Debian Installer for an easy installation.
“The general goal is to provide a way to use Debian without reliance on non-free software, to the extent possible within the Debian project. One challenge are the official Debian live and installer images,” said the Debian project.
Software freedom lovers will probably love the new Debian Libre Live Images, as one of its advantages is that you don’t have to agree to the distribution terms and usage license agreements of the non-free blobs included in the official Debian images.
“The rights to your own hardware won’t be crippled by the legal restrictions that follow from relying on those non-free blobs. The usage of your own machine is no longer limited to what the non-free firmware license agreements allow you to do,” added the Debian project.
