For newbies its a bad news, since they have to compile new drivers but for free software supporters it a big news. One of the most popular GNU/Linux distribution is coming out with a completely free kernel. For users who are forced to install non-free ones because of the non existence of free ones, Debian will be providing a non-free section. But this comes with lesser support as the source code is not available.

"We have nonetheless kept on working on splitting away non-free bits from the Linux kernel, thanks to the work of the Debian Kernel team and various Linux upstream developers. We are proud to announce that, to the best of our knowledge, all issues are solved and that we will be able to deliver a Linux kernel which is completely Free, according to the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG), with Debian Squeeze. We hereby reaffirm Free Software as one of our priorities, as documented in the Debian Social Contract." says the Debian news release.

With Ubuntu accussed of including more closed source code in it release, this step from Debian is a commendable one. But in some cases new users would find it difficult to make thier system running. Debian Squeeze is expected to be release by this year end.

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