FSF adds Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre to list of endorsed GNU/Linux distributions | Hacker News Reader

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38 pointsjrepinc7 comments

Reads like the FSF likes it because it doesn't bundle "non free" software by default.

Nothing there about why Hyperbola is interesting beyond that. So I can't tell why I would want it instead of another distro that disables "non free" by default, like Debian.

Not criticizing, I did check their home page and didn't find an answer there either.

> So I can't tell why I would want it instead of another distro that disables "non free" by default, like Debian.

Just pointing out that Debian does not meet FSF criteria for excluding non-free strongly enough. Instead they endorse gNewSense, which is pretty much deblobbed Debian.

That's helpful. The replies here would be a good start to revamp their home page elevator pitch.

Personally I find the following blurb from their front page crystal clear:

> The Hyperbola Project is a community driven effort to provide a fully free (as in freedom) operating system that is stable, secure, simple, lightweight that tries to Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) under a Long Term Support (LTS) way.

> Derived from Arch plus stability and security from Debian, Hyperbola provides packages from it that meet the GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines (GNU FSDG) and replacements for the packages that don't meet this requirement.

If that doesn't sell it to you then I suspect this is not distro for you. Yes, you need already know what Arch, Debian, LTS, and FSDG mean to understand the point of this distro, but that just means the target audience is not just random Joe six-pack

In fairness, I'm not sure the FSF cares about anything but whether the system uses proprietary software or not.

To your question - at a skim, it looks like it's "Arch but more stable and without proprietary software"; I suspect that most of their target audience already knows what that means for them (yes, this is less than ideal for getting new people involved). I'd be curious how that works; part of the appeal to Arch is the AUR, but lots of stuff in the AUR is proprietary, so I assume they must not use it? At which point Hyperbola is kinda interesting if you like the Arch tooling (which is nice), but it'll mostly boil down to your philosophical view of free/proprietary software anyways.

i'm an arch linux user and i was happy to learn that i can use the system (package manager, lightweight install process, and other arch specific tools) yet limit myself to FLOSS software.

so for arch users, it provides an opportunity to use the OS we love, but limited to FLOSS packages.

in fact, the way to convert an arch linux installation is just to switch the mirrors (and obviously de-proprietary your existing system, but that i don't think can be done automatically)

edit: yes i'm aware that some pacman licensing flags or some such could be done here as well to achieve much of the same effect, but you can imagine situations where you want to ensure those options aren't even possible.

From the hyperbola wiki Installation page [1]

"Since Hyperbola removed entire systemd support, we suggest you read about OpenRC which is our main default init system."

So one reason for having a look would be to see what OpenRC is all about.

Interesting distribution model: the iso is a dual architecture netboot image weighing in at CD-ROM size. You boot and (presumably) choose 64 or 32bit Intel as appropriate. Then do the Arch linux style install. I have a Thinkpad x61s with an atheros wifi card for which there are free/libre drivers so I'll try an installation in a bit.

Arch-style install coupled with command line system where you add Xorg and software implies aimed at a knowledgeable target group.

[1] https://wiki.hyperbola.info/doku.php?id=en:guide:installatio...

You have to scroll down about 2/3 of the page. No automatically generated section list is apparent.

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