Next Debian release to have 'free' kernel
The forthcoming release of Debian GNU/Linux, version 6.0 or Squeeze, will have a completely free kernel without any binary blobs, according to an announcement from the project. The word free refers to freedom, not price. Debian, at present, ships a kernel with its default images that includes binary firmware.
The release said that Debian developers had been working on stripping all non-free firmware from the kernel since Etch (version 4.0). This had continued in the next release cycle, Lenny. However it had not been possible to complete the task.
"We have nonetheless kept on working on splitting away non-free bits from the Linux kernel, thanks to the work of the Debian Kernel team and various Linux upstream developers," the release said.
