Debian 6.0 Squeeze
to be released with completely free Linux Kernel
December 15th, 2010
The Debian project has been working in removing non-free firmware from the
Linux kernel shipped with Debian for the past two release cycles. At the time
of the releases of Debian 4.0 Etch
and 5.0 Lenny
, however, it was not yet
possible to ship Linux kernels stripped of all non-free firmware bits. Back
then we had to acknowledge that freedom issues concerning Linux firmware were
not completely
sorted out.
We have nonetheless kept on working on splitting away non-free bits from the Linux kernel, thanks to the work of the Debian Kernel team and various Linux upstream developers. We are proud to announce that, to the best of our knowledge, all issues are solved and that we will be able to deliver a Linux kernel which is completely Free, according to the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG), with Debian Squeeze. We hereby reaffirm Free Software as one of our priorities, as documented in the Debian Social Contract.
In accordance with the Debian Social Contract, we acknowledge that some
users require the use of works that do not conform to the DFSG and that those
works might include non-free firmware bits. For the time being, we have added
to the non-free
area of our archives alternative installation images and
additional packages for Debian Squeeze, that include non-free firmware bits
needed to enable specific pieces of hardware. They are not part of Debian, they
should be looked for explicitly by interested users, and we cannot support them
to the same extent of Free firmware as we do not have access to the
corresponding source code. We encourage hardware manufacturers to release only
DFSG-free firmware and we cannot accept other kind of firmware as part of
Debian.
About Debian
The Debian Project was founded in 1993 by Ian Murdock to be a truly
free, community project. Since then the project has grown to be one of
the largest and most influential open source projects. Over three
thousand volunteers from all over the world work together to create and
maintain Debian software. Translated into over 65 languages, and
supporting a huge range of computer types, Debian calls itself the
universal operating system
.
Contact Information
For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at https://www.debian.org/ or send mail to <press@debian.org>.