1. Who started and runs the project?

gNewSense was started by Brian Brazil bbrazil and Paul O'Malley ompaul and the project is now run by Karl Goetz kgoetz .

2. Why was this project started?

It was started to provide an Ubuntu based free software distribution without non-free binary blobs in the kernel. Lots more information. Ubuntu was choosen as the starting point as Paul was a Ubuntu member.

3. Aren't Ubuntu/Debian already free?

Neither Debian nor Ubuntu are fully free. Ubuntu installs non-free software by default. Debian provides non-free software through its repositories and includes non-free kernel drivers. We were also the first distribution to remove GLX^, which Debian had ignored for years.

See 1 2

^GLX is needed for hardware-accelerated 3d graphics in X. Recompiling X, and removing OpenGL, are required due to the non-free SGI Free B license.
(GLX was re-introduced upon completion of a license change in the beginning of 2009, thanks to the work of a large community.)

4. Why the name gNewSense?

The name originated as Gnusiance as a reference to RMS's GPG key, but was later changed to gNewSense by bbrazil and ompaul to also capture the New Sense of the distribution and as a pun on GNU.

5. How do you pronounce gNewSense?

The definitive pronunciation is guh-NEW-sense.

6. What's the FSF's involvement with the project?

The FSF provides hardware and related support to the project. They approached the project after the 0.85 release.

7. How can I get support?

You can get support by joining our Community, reading our wiki or forum.

8. How can I help?

We're always looking for help. Some areas include user support, documentation and development.

9. Why don't you do $X?

Many people want this project to do many different things. It is not possible to accommodate all of them, and keep the project maintainable. If you want to do something, your best chance is to talk to us first and then implement it.

10. Why do you use PmWiki instead of MediaWiki or $wiki?

PmWiki is a very easy to setup wiki that is highly extendable and configurable, with a community that provides lots of code and good documentation. While MediaWiki is used by many popular projects such as Wikipedia, it doesn't have the features we need.

11. Can Builder be used only for gNewSense?

While Builder is geared towards gNewSense, with some modification it can be used to create and maintain a fork of any .deb based distribution.

12. Do I really have to download 30GB to use gNewSense?

No, LiveCDs are available from our Mirrors. You only need to download 30GB if you want to use Builder to create your own distribution.

13. Will gNewSense 3.0 be based on Debian instead of Ubuntu, and why?

Yes, because:

• Debian separates free and non-free software better, so it's easier to make a fully free derivative out of it.
• Debian supports the architectures we want to support (e.g. MIPS).
• it suits our infrastructure better (easier development).