GNU Linux-libre 4.6-gnu is now available

[Alexandre Oliva]

GNU Linux-libre 4.6-gnu sources and tarballs are now available at
<http://www.fsfla.org/selibre/linux-libre/download/releases/4.6-gnu/>.
There were no deblobbing changes since -rc7-gnu.  Binaries are expected
to show up over the next few days.

The greatest news for this release is that we have integrated changes to
restore the ability for some old radeon video cards to work without
blobs, which upstream removed long ago apparently without reason.  This
applies to r600 cards only, but it might be possible that, with similar
changes, other such cards could be brought back to work.  If you have a
radeon card that used to work with GNU Linux-libre's radeon driver at
some point, but that started requiring you to blacklist the radeon
driver, get in touch and let's try to make it work!

Aside from that, we've got the usual updates to clean up blob requests
in drivers that seem to always require corresponding blob version
changes (are they really not a single program, or derived from each
other?), plus actual deblobbing changes in nouveau and skylake sound.
There are newer drivers requiring deblobbing: melfas_mip4 touchscreen
and ag6xx bluetooth.  To "make up" for them, upstream removed two
blob-request-ridden drivers: dgap and wimax gdm72xx usb.


For up-to-the-minute news, join us on #linux-libre of irc.gnu.org
(Freenode), or follow me (@lxoliva) on Twister <http://twister.net.co/>,
GNU social at social.libreplanet.org, Diaspora* at pod.libreplanetbr.org
or pump.io at identi.ca.


Be Free! with GNU Linux-libre.


WHAT IS GNU Linux-libre?

  GNU Linux-libre is a Free version of the kernel Linux (see below),
  suitable for use with the GNU Operating System in 100% Free
  GNU/Linux-libre System Distributions.
  http://www.gnu.org/distros/

  It removes non-Free components from Linux, that are disguised as
  source code or distributed in separate files.  It also disables
  run-time requests for non-Free components, shipped separately or as
  part of Linux, and documentation pointing to them, so as to avoid
  (Free-)baiting users into the trap of non-Free Software.
  http://www.fsfla.org/anuncio/2010-11-Linux-2.6.36-libre-debait

  Linux-libre started within the gNewSense GNU/Linux distribution.
  It was later adopted by Jeff Moe, who coined its name, and in 2008
  it became a project maintained by FSF Latin America.  In 2012, it
  became part of the GNU Project.

  The GNU Linux-libre project takes a minimal-changes approach to
  cleaning up Linux, making no effort to substitute components that
  need to be removed with functionally equivalent Free ones.
  Nevertheless, we encourage and support efforts towards doing so.
  http://libreplanet.org/wiki/LinuxLibre:Devices_that_require_non-free_firmware

  Our mascot is Freedo, a light-blue penguin that has just come out
  of the shower.  Although we like penguins, GNU is a much greater
  contribution to the entire system, so its mascot deserves more
  promotion.  See our web page for their images.
  http://linux-libre.fsfla.org/

WHAT IS LINUX?

  Linux is a clone of the Unix kernel [...]

(snipped from the README in the source distribution of GNU Linux-libre)


-- 
Alexandre Oliva, freedom fighter    http://FSFLA.org/~lxoliva/
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Gandhi
Be Free! -- http://FSFLA.org/   FSF Latin America board member
Free Software Evangelist|Red Hat Brasil GNU Toolchain Engineer