GNU bug report logs - #79262
bochs 3.0 bios/i440fx.bin is non-free

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Package: guix;

Reported by: "Haelwenn (lanodan) Monnier" <contact <at> hacktivis.me>

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2025 02:12:03 UTC

Severity: normal

Done: Efraim Flashner <efraim <at> flashner.co.il>

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: "Haelwenn (lanodan) Monnier" <contact <at> hacktivis.me>
To: bug-guix <at> gnu.org
Subject: bochs 3.0 bios/i440fx.bin is non-free
Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2025 23:10:06 +0200

Hi,

Not a Guix user but checked the packaging recipes and it doesn't
seems to be handled.

See:
- https://sources.debian.org/src/bochs/3.0%2Bdfsg-1/debian/changelog
- https://bugs.gentoo.org/961640

TL;DR:
- Bochs 3.0 ships with the bios/i440fx.bin blob
- i440fx BIOS is under a non-free license
- Even if it would be free, it requires NBASM which ships with no source code,
  and is also under a non-free license

Best regards
This bug report was last modified 20 days ago.

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