GNU Linux-libre 5.3-gnu

[Alexandre Oliva]

GNU Linux-libre 5.3-gnu sources and tarballs are now available at
<http://www.fsfla.org/selibre/linux-libre/download/releases/5.3-gnu/>.
It didn't require any deblobbing changes since -rc7-gnu, the first
published rc-gnu.  Freesh binaries are already available!, thanks to
Jason Self; others are on the way.


Besides recognizing new false positives (sequences that our blob hunter
would report as suspicious, but that are neither blobs nor requests for
blobs), updating the deblobbing scripts for 5.3 required adjusting
cleaned up drivers for updated blob names, recognizing one new Free
piece of firmware with binary and corresponding sources embedded in the
kernel sources, and disabling blob loading introduced in a few drivers:
QCOM, DRM (HDCP), Allegro-DVT, and Meson-VDEC.

This last one was particularly disappointing: the firmware sources were
supposed to be available from LibreELEC, and though the link to the
alleged sources there is broken, I managed to find the "source" repo
containing them, only to find out the "source" was just a binary blob
encoded in C as an array of char, just like Linux used to do back when I
got involved with Linux-libre.  Oh well...  Request disabled...

If anyone can find Freely-licensed actual source code for that, or for
any other file whose loading we disable, please let us know, so that we
can refrain from disabling its loading.


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/>,
Secure Scuttlebutt, GNU social at social.libreplanet.org, Diaspora* at
pod.libreplanetbr.org or pump.io at identi.ca.  Check my web page (link
in the signature) for direct links.


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 Documentation/admin-guide/README.rst)


-- 
Alexandre Oliva, freedom fighter  he/him   https://FSFLA.org/blogs/lxo
Be the change, be Free!       FSF.org & FSF Latin America board member
GNU Toolchain Engineer                        Free Software Evangelist
Hay que enGNUrecerse, pero sin perder la terGNUra jamás - Che GNUevara