You miss the point entirely. The GPL does not prohibit the use of either binary firmware drivers or binary blobs.
It actually does prohibit a work based on such things being released as a whole... this is why nvidia and ati stuff, and other firmware are not part of the kernel. In the case of Linux the kernel, they also take measures to ensure such things cannot use kernel calls made by non-GPL stuff (google for GPL_ONLY in the kernel)
It simply prohibits their distribution embedded in a distro.
No, it is their illegality that requires they be outside the kernel. Many get away with it though because we can't prove that they make kernel specific calls, thus it's hard to argue they are a derived work. Make no mistake though, if it IS a Linux kernel derived work, it is UTTERLY illegal. Ask cisco and skype about how serious that is. Both have recently lost cases for their usage of Linux, while not releasing source code of additions. If you argue the GPL is bad or immoral, you're breaking the law using the code at all.
Some accommodation will sooner or later have to be made to make it easier to use your newly purchased computer with Linux. Either by fetching the drivers across the net or whatever works, and running those drivers in a safe sandbox if necessary.
Currently, many hardware vendors are simply requiring their hardware be supported by Linux. If you don't provide open source drivers, they won't include your hardware. This is what will eventually get what you state. People like HP and Dell are committed to this already, people will release their specs and open source their drivers to make money.
Pretending that its 1985 is counterproductive.
Ignorance and arguments based on the small picture, without even attempting to see the big picture is also counter productive. Go out and buy hardware that is fully supported by Linux, make it possible to show that supporting Linux entirely (ie, providing GPL drivers) is beneficial, and show the hardware vendors that it will hurt their bottom line significantly if they don't. THAT is how you get things done. It benefits no one to simply bend for those vendors, it just continues something bad. Novell and Red Hat has come out and said Linux isn't ready for the residential desktop, these are exactly the reasons why. Companies can go out and buy hardware that is supported well, home users generally just buy whatever is cheapest or most powerful. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org