Re: Can't use SYSFS for "Proprietry" driver modules !!!.

From: Adrian Bunk (bunk_at_stusta.de)
Date: 03/27/05

  • Next message: Rolf Eike Beer: "Re: [PATCH] typo fix in Documentation/eisa.txt" 
    Date:	Sun, 27 Mar 2005 21:37:33 +0200
To: Aaron Gyes <floam@sh.nu>

    On Sun, Mar 27, 2005 at 11:16:54AM -0800, Aaron Gyes wrote:
    > > And then the user want to upgrade the 2.0 kernel that shipped with this
    > > box although the company that made the hardware went bankrupt some years
    > > ago.
    > >
    > > If the user has the source of the driver, he can port the driver or hire
    > > someone to port the driver (this "obscure piece of hardware" might also
    > > be an expensive piece of hardware).
    >
    > So what? Sure, GPL'd drivers are easier for an end-user in that case.
    > What does that have to do with law? What about what's better for the

    I wasn't talking about legal issues.

    I was answering Dave's "very specialist piece of equipment" opinion.

    And my point was that even in this case it's better for the user to have
    the source.

    > company that made the device? Should NVIDIA be forced to give up their
    > secrets to all their competitors because some over zealous developers
    > say so? Should the end-users of the current drivers be forced to lose
    > out on features such as sysfs and udev compatability?
    >
    > I love Linux, and a I love that free software has become mildly
    > successful, but the zealots are hurting both.

    There are many bug reports to linux-kernel that are undebuggable because
    they involve the nvidia binary-only module.

    I do personally know several people who use the nvidia binary-only
    modules and have as a result experienced stability problems on their
    computer. Linux has an IMHO justified reputation for being stable.
    Users experiencing system stability problems due to binary-only modules
    might wrongfully attribute them to Linux harming the reputation of
    Linux.

    cu
    Adrian 

    -- 
       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed
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