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'pragmatic' is a POV term, and certainly debatable, given the previous paragraph showing how blobs can break your computer |
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Other operating system projects, including [[NetBSD]], [[FreeBSD]], [[DragonFly BSD]], and the Ubuntu and [[Fedora Core|Fedora]] [[Linux distributions]], 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 purposes ranging from [[Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks|RAID]] to networking and accelerated graphics drivers. The [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) is actively campaigning against binary blobs, even though some [[Linux distributions]] do include them.{{fact}} In order to make use of opaque binary blob drivers available for other operating systems, some projects include software [[wrapper]]s: examples include [[NdisWrapper]] for [[Linux]] and Project Evil for [[FreeBSD]] and [[NetBSD]], both of which implement [[Microsoft]]'s [[NDIS]] [[Application programming interface|API]] to allow [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] drivers to be used.
[[Firmware]], the operating software required by a device's onboard [[microcontroller]] that accompanies some hardware, is generally not considered to be a binary blob. Often it is stored in onboard [[flash memory]] but to decrease costs and ease upgrading, some manufacturers now use external firmware uploaded by the operating system. Although the firmware is present in the operating system, it is merely copied to the device and not executed, lessening concerns about hidden security flaws. The OpenBSD project accepts binary firmware images and will redistribute the images if the license permits.<ref>{{cite web | title = OpenBSD Works To Open Wireless Chipsets - November 2, 2004 |url = http://kerneltrap.org/node/4118 | accessdate = 2006-06-23}}</ref>
==See also==
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