Re: [H-source-users] Suggestion: Digital Freedom Rating tool for every server/desktop/laptop/mobile device

[Michał Masłowski]

> I propose a FSF/H-Node build a "Digital Freedom Rating Tool" that
> device owners can run on their existing devices to help them measure
> their current levels of Digital Freedom.  The tool would detect all
> the devices within system being run on, connect back to h-node.org and
> generate a detailed score for every detected hardware device based on
> certain criteria:

These criteria aren't very simple to determine by a program.

> The detailed score could also mention certain impacts on digital
> freedoms for each device. i.e. DRM chipsets enabled impacts on your
> digital freedom to easily make copies of certain media content.

What if the DRM isn't used?

> The detailed score could also mention which distros support the
> specific device detected and with what driver and version.

Usually this means "new enough or none".

> Unfortunately, building a tool to run like this in Microsoft-land,
> Apple-land and Google-Android-land will require different binaries for
> those different operating systems.  This is where a tool like this is
> needed most.  Having a tool like this running on Linux is like
> preaching to the converted, but could be used as a reference point in
> terms of what digital freedoms we have and to compare scores against
> other non-"Digital Freedom" devices.

How would it be better than a LiveCD of a free distro?

Phones need device-specific systems, there is documentation on what
devices are known to work or not work with custom software, i.e. the
results that the program should get can be already found.  It's not easy
to determine it for other devices (Replicant developers believed that
the Nexus S modem cannot access system memory, while it can access a
part of it; for supported devices we know what the kernel uses, while
the modem could access more).

> This tool would certainly influence consumers to move to GNU/Linux or
> at least experiment with GNU/Linux.   Most important it would save
> time explaining to GNU-unaware people by simply running this tool and
> demonstrating to them how much digital freedom they currently have and
> how much digital freedom they could have if they used GNU/Linux instead.

Can digital freedom be quantitatively measured?

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