[tor-relays] [tor-exit] good node providers

[grarpamp]

On 2/17/19, dns1983 at riseup.net <dns1983 at riseup.net> wrote:
> It wasn't clear to me if those operating systems
> would install any kind of firmware automatically.

Firmware / Microcode / BIOS blobs are related
to the specific hardware you have installed... if the hw
requires having the blob loaded into it after each boot to
even function, then some OS will support and can do that,
some manually, some automatically.
Driver blobs are similar but are vendors secrets running as
part of the OS kernel that are used to talk to the hw.
Many OS offer both closed and opensource versions of each.
If you don't have hw that needs them, then while the blobs
may still be on disk or in source and package repos or in
the kernel and userland until compiled out, it's not much issue,
other than the philosophical stance of the OS on them.
Some OS essentially disavow blobs altogether...
OpenBSD which is a bit famous in its own way,
and maybe a few Linux distros. Most OS do have
some variations in blob policy and implementation
that may affect a users particular choice of OS...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_blob
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9671025
https://web.archive.org/web/20130424125958/http://kerneltrap.org/node/6550

https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/songs/song39.ogg
https://www.openbsd.org/papers/brhard2007/mgp00027.html


> I want to try openbsd, maybe recompiling the kernel if I can.

That is documented for users here...

https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq5.html

And even comes with music for while you work ... :)

https://www.openbsd.org/lyrics.html


Ultimately, if you don't want blobs, don't use them,
don't buy them, hack them out, or be first to market
with an auditable thus very profitable Open HW chain...

#OpenFabs , #OpenHW , #OpenSW , #OpenDev , #OpenBiz