Binary blob: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:22, 4 August 2006

Revision as of 02:11, 10 August 2006

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The OpenBSD project has a notable policy of not accepting binary blobs into its source tree, citing not only the potential for undetectable or irreparable security flaws but also its encroachment onto the openness and freedom of their software.<ref>{{cite web|last = Music composed by Ty Semaka and Jonathan Lewis. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jonathan Lewis of Moxam Studios (1-403-233-0350). Vocals and Lyrics by Ty Semaka & Theo de Raadt. Bass guitar, organ and bubbles by Jonathan Lewis. Guitar by Tom Bagley. Drums by Jim Buick|url = http://www.openbsd.org/lyrics.html#39|title = 3.9: "Blob!"|publisher = OpenBSD|accessdate = 2006-06-22}}</ref> This stance is expected to be somewhat validated by information soon to be released revealing an exploit within the binary driver for a wireless network card.<ref>{{cite web|last = An article by Robert McMillan of IDG News Service regarding the hacking of a Wi-Fi binary blob driver - June 21, 2006|url = http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/06/21/79536_HNwifibreach_1.html|title = Researchers hack Wi-Fi driver to breach laptop|publisher = InfoWorld|accessdate = 2006-06-23}}</ref> Further details are expected at the [[August 2]] [[2006]] [[Black Hat Briefings|Black Hat USA]].

OthersOther operating system projects, including [[NetBSD]], [[FreeBSD]], [[DragonFly BSD]], and the [[Ubuntu (Linux distribution)|Ubuntu]] and [[Fedora Core|Fedora]] [[Linux distributions]], take a pragmatic view and accept binary blobs as a fast route to the missing or enhanced functionality they provide.<ref name="bsdinterview">{{cite web | url = http://os.newsforge.com/os/05/06/09/2132233.shtml?tid=8&tid=2 | title = BSD cognoscenti on Linux | accessdate = 2006-07-07 | last = Matzan | first = Jem | date = [[2005-06-15]] | publisher = NewsForge }} See Christos Zoulas's response to "Is sharing between Free/Open/NetBSD and the Linux kernel a common occurrence? And if so, does it go both ways?"</ref> They include binary blobs for varied purposes, ranging from [[Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks|RAID]], to networking and accelerated graphics drivers.

It is worth noting that the [[Free software foundation]] is actively campaigning against binary blobs, even though many [[Linux distributions]] include them.{{fact}}