It is based on the upstream Linux 4.7 kernel

Jul 25, 2016 21:00 GMT  ·  By

Alexandre Oliva from the GNU Linux-libre project has happily announced the release and general availability for download of the GNU Linux-libre 4.7 kernel for those who want 100% freedom when using a GNU/Linux operating system.

The debut of GNU Linux-libre kernel 4.7 comes a few hours after Linus Torvalds' announcement of the new Linux 4.7 kernel branch, on which GNU Linux-libre 4.7-gnu is based. As usual, it contains deblobbing changes to various of the included drivers, among which Radeon, Intel i915 CSR, Intel Skylake audio, HFI1 InfiniBand, Realtek rtl8xxxu Wi-Fi, iwlwifi, mwifiex, Broadcom brcmfmac, and Atheros ath10k.

"One newly-added driver, xhci-tegra, would have loaded blobs if we hadn't disabled its blob loading machinery. Various other drivers required deblobbing changes to clean up newer versions in the filenames of blobs they would induce users to install: radeon, i915 csr, mwifiex, brcmfmac, iwlwifi, ath10k testmode, rtl8xxxu wifi, hfi1 Infiniband, and skylake audio," says Alexandre Oliva in the release announcement.

Get 100% freedom with the GNU Linux-libre project

In case you don't know what the GNU Linux-libre project does, we would like to inform you that it processes a special version of the Linux kernel that is 100% free, which means that it doesn't contain any non-free components. It also disables runtime requests for those non-free components, and it's designed from the ground up to be suitable for use with the GNU operating system.

The GNU Linux-libre kernel was initially engineered for the gNewSense GNU/Linux distribution, but it can now be used on other GNU/Linux operating systems as well. If you are interested in using a 100% free OS, we recommend that you visit the official website of the GNU Linux-libre project at http://linuxlibre.org. In the meantime, you can download the GNU Linux-libre kernel 4.7 right now via Softpedia.