The concept of freedom in code can be achieved in several ways, but one of the preferred paths among Linux distributions is the outright rejection of any blob or closed application from the start. Some initiatives are willing to compromise for the sake of compatibility, but that is not the case with Trisquel Linux, a distribution born in Spanish territory that has been with us for ten years, and which counts on the support of the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project.
If you visit Richard Stallman’s personal website, you will immediately know that his main computer is a ThinkPad X60, the first to achieve full compatibility with the Libreboot project. On the operating system side, his choice is Trisquel Linux (technically Trisquel GNU/Linux), a name that doesn’t usually get as much press as other distros. In essence, Trisquel is what Stallman calls “an ethical distro”, since it uses not a single piece of closed code, and that extends to both applications and drivers and firmware. Of course, Trisquel is not the only project that meets these conditions, and the official GNU page presents a short list of other options, but I dare to say Trisquel is one of the most polished.
Trisquel began its adventure in 2004 thanks to the sponsorship of the University of Vigo, and a year later it had its official presentation, with Stallman himself in attendance. If my memory serves me right, the first build was based on Debian, but the latest versions have adopted Ubuntu LTS. Its general editions are four:
Trisquel editions
Trisquel 7.0 standard uses GNOME as its desktop, and offers a much broader list of applications, among which Abrowser (essentially Firefox with a changed name), the GIMP graphics editor, and a copy of LibreOffice stand out. Trisquel Mini is designed for more humble computers and netbooks. GNOME is replaced by LXDE, Midori takes over as the main browser, and the only office tool is AbiWord. Trisquel NetInstall is a minimal build for those who want deeper customization or have specific uses in mind, and Trisquel Sugar TOAST is the educational variant, with the Sugar interface.
Once again, we must emphasize the absence of proprietary code in Trisquel. This means that there will be WiFi modules and graphics cards without the necessary support, so some users will have to experiment a bit, and why not, get their hands dirty.
