Sorry buddy. It looks like I somehow replied to the wrong comment.
You misunderstood me (no surprise given the first sentence).
No, the CPU does not become "software" because it has firmware. Which is why it is crazy to disqualify Linux distros as "free" when they include firmware blobs.
Based on your comment here, I would say we completely agree.
[EDIT: Actually, I see my mistake now. I was replying to you. I just forgot to put the /s at the end of my first line. I said "You don't get it" because "you do get it".]