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gNewSense

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gNewSense
gNewSense 2.1 Live CD
DeveloperBrian Brazil and Paul O'Malley
Working stateCurrent
Source modelFree software
Latest release2.1 [1] / August 24, 2008; 15 years ago (2008-08-24)
Repository
Update methodAPT
Package managerdpkg
Platformsx86
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
Default
user interface		GNOME
LicenseFree software licenses
Official websitewww.gnewsense.org

The gNewSense GNU/Linux distribution is an operating system designed for users who wish to only use free software on personal computers. gNewSense is based on Ubuntu, but with all proprietary software and binary blobs removed. It is listed by the FSF as a free operating system [2]

gNewSense takes a very strict stance for free software. For example, any documentation that gives instructions on installing non-free software is excluded[3].

The backing project was founded and launched by Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley in 2006. In October 2006, after the 0.85 release[4] it was given assistance by the Free Software Foundation.[5]

Version 1.1, "deltad", was released on 22 January 2007 and is based on Ubuntu 6.06 "Dapper Drake". Version 2.0, "deltah", followed on 30 April 2008 and is based on Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron".

Comparison with Ubuntu

Proprietary software repositories are not provided by the gNewSense project, non-free documentation and artwork have been removed and the "Universe" package repository is enabled by default. In order to avoid trademark issues that stem from the modification of Mozilla Firefox, gNewSense 1.1 rebranded it as "BurningDog". BurningDog likewise did not suggest non-free plugins[6] for various web media, such as Adobe Flash. gNewSense 2.0 uses the Epiphany web browser as released by the GNOME Project.

Limitations

Over one hundred pieces of proprietary firmware were removed from the Ubuntu kernel to make GNewSense. Such removals include support for some wireless network cards, and therefore gNewSense currently supports a more limited range of wireless network cards than other GNU/Linux distributions. 3D graphics and application support were also removed because of license issues[7] with Mesa.

Because of these removals, GNewSense will run on fewer computers than Ubuntu.

Comparison with Debian

Debian is another GNU/linux distribution noted by strict licensing. gNewSense excludes non-free software that Debian includes (such as proprietary firmware) and does not have repositories for non-free software (which Debian has). It should be noted, however, that gNewSense also includes documentation that the Debian project considers non-free, particularly that licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License with invariant sections.[8]

Technical aspects

By default gNewSense uses GNOME, the official desktop environment of the GNU operating system, but a version using the KDE desktop is also available, though it has not yet appeared for the 2.0 "deltah" release.

Like Ubuntu, gNewSense has good usability and focuses on software freedom.[citation needed] The Ubiquity installer[9] allows installing to the hard disk from within the Live CD environment without the need for restarting the computer prior to installation.

Besides standard system tools and other small applications, gNewSense comes installed with the following software: the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, the Internet browser Epiphany, the instant messenger Pidgin, and the raster graphics editor GIMP. Common software development tools including the GCC and the GNU Emacs text editor are installed by default.

Instalation

The same CD can be used to run the distro as a live CD and to install. CD images are available for download. gNewSense 2.0 needs five gigabytes of disk space.

Alternatively, gNewSense 2.0 is available pre-installed on computers from Los Alamos Computers.[10]

Builder

Brian Brazil created a tool called 'Builder' to make gNewSense which allows others to create their own variants of Ubuntu.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.gnewsense.org/
  2. ^ http://www.gnu.org/links/links.html#FreeGNULinuxDistributions
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Release 0.85
  5. ^ gNewSense 1.0 released - Free Software Foundation
  6. ^ gNewSense Official Website | Main / PressRelease20070122
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ [3]
  9. ^ "Screenshots of Ubiquity's KDE frontend". Retrieved 2006-05-03.
  10. ^ "LAC Now Shipping gNewSense 2.0 Systems".
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