5 Best Linux Distribution With No Proprietary Components

Linux is a free and open source operating system. However, Linux (and other open source operating system) can use and load device drivers without publicly available source code. These are vendor-compiled binary drivers without any source code and known as Binary Blobs. Die hard open source fans and Free Software Foundation (FSF) recommends completely removing all proprietary components including blobs. In this post I will list five best Linux distribution that meets the FSF's strict guidelines and contains no proprietary components such as firmware and drivers.

Top 5 Reasons to Avoid Binary BlobsModification & distribution - Binary blobs can not be improved or fixed by open source developers. You can not distribute modified versions.Reliability - Binary blobs can be unsupported by vendors at any time by abandoning driver maintenance.Auditing - Binary blobs cannot be audited for security and bugs. You are forced to trust vendors not to put backdoors and spyware into the blob.Bugs - Binary blobs hide many bugs. Also, it can motivate people to buy new hardware.Portability - Binary blobs can not be ported on different hardware architectures. It typically runs on a few hardware architectures.Look Ma Not Just Free Software!

The following are not just a distribution but offers additional benefits too:

Learn how a distribution works on the inside.Ease of use.An active community providing quick and helpful support.#1: gNewSense

gNewSense is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Ubuntu Linux. However, gNewSense v3.0 will be based on Debian instead of Ubuntu. The current version is same as Ubuntu, but with all non-free software and binary blobs removed. The FSF considers gNewSense to be a GNU/Linux distribution composed entirely of free software.


View the Original article