Startup plans "complete" Linux smartphone OS (Linux Devices) [LWN.net]

proprietary device drivers in the BIOS

Posted Jun 20, 2006 8:31 UTC (Tue) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link]

Yep stick it in the firmware I guess.

Like restrictions on wifi devices frequency and power ranges should be in the device's firmware. It stupid to put things like that into the software anyways.

I've read somewere else one of the realy big barriers for more widespread Linux adoption in the embedded world is the hardware makers. They are freaked out that the 'commodization' and standardization of embedded hardware will lead to what happenned with the personal computer..

With embedded devices you have to be very very carefull on what sort of stuff you choose to use. The vendor has to provide the hardware for the markettable life of your product. They also have to garrentee that they can deliver enough parts that if your device gets popular you can meet the demand.

It would be horrible if your cell phone gets amazingly popular and you can't sell enough of them because your lacking some small integrated coponate and some competator makes a competing-but-inferior product that takes away all your potential profitability because your slow..

If 'OEM's or whatnot could play competing hardware developers against each other for low prices due to interchangable parts then that would destroy the profitability of a lot of companies who are now the only ones capable of producing specific items to meet widespread demand.

So there is a huge paranoia around protecting your 'IP' and Free Software drivers are kinda of a freakishly scary thing in a world were the more propriatory your hardware is the better.

At least that's what I've read. I could of misunderstood.

proprietary device drivers in the BIOS

Posted Jun 20, 2006 22:33 UTC (Tue) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

Like restrictions on wifi devices frequency and power ranges should be in the device's firmware. It stupid to put things like that into the software anyways.

Why ? Is it really so easy for the "Joe Average" to change the software ? And you can usually avoid all such restrictions with just a few resistors anyway!

Anyone who's making it's car hazardous for pedesrians deserve to be punished - but that's not enough reason to make a car with the hood welded shut!

So there is a huge paranoia around protecting your 'IP' and Free Software drivers are kinda of a freakishly scary thing in a world were the more propriatory your hardware is the better.

There are sinple answer to this. Don't like Linux? Pay for PocketPC or VxWorks. Or you can even port NetBSD/OpenBSD. Hardware makers do have a choice - just not choice they'd like. They want Linux since Linux is doing so many things right (in relation to other producer's hardware) - but then they'd like to keep all their "IP" private. Does not work this way. Either you play in the world where everyone's IP is private and you can not debug anything (the only thing less stable then APM/ACPI drivers in typical Linux are nVidia/ATI drivers and reverse-engeenered drivers - guess why?) - yes, I know, it's slow and hard to develop in said word. Or you are publishing the source for drivers. There are no middle ground: either everything is open or everything is "top-sikret". There are no game in town called "I can watch and change your code, but you can not do the same for mine" because all such tries are end up in the second category after few years.

There are real danger for Linux to become second kind of game where your hardware is flaky and you can not do anyhing about it - I sincerelly hope gpl-violations.org project will try to do something about it. Yes, they can not make everyone to stop using firmware, BIOS-like interfaces and so on - but at least it'll be harder for hardware makers to produce such mess...