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NitpickingNitpickingPosted Oct 15, 2010 21:12 UTC (Fri) by endecotp (guest, #36428)In reply to: Nitpicking by josh Parent article: The FSF's hardware endorsement program
> nobody can change that software
No, that's not what they say; the criteria is:
" ...except for certain microcode and firmware.
Not "nobody can change", but simply "not meant to be changed" (meant by whom?), and has to be a "low level processor".
(Note that the linked text is evolving...)
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Nitpicking Posted Oct 15, 2010 21:23 UTC (Fri) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
you already note that "not meant to be changed" is very imprecise, but at the same time "auxiliary processors" is also very imprecise.
I could argue that on a smartphone, the cpu running linux is the "auxiliary processor" and that the main processor is the one running the radio (this would still be non-free, but would again make it so that the source for linux wouldn't be needed by this nebulous criteria)
they either need to say that they don't care about device firmware (and then define it suitable, for Tivo, linux is the device firmware), or they need to not make exceptions for firmware that may be harder to modify.
Nitpicking Posted Oct 20, 2010 2:09 UTC (Wed) by man_ls (subscriber, #15091) [Link] I think that both conditions are meant to apply: "The exception applies to auxiliary processors or low level processors, none of whose software is meant to be installed or changed by the user or by the seller." So it must be an auxiliary (or low level) processor, and also its software must be non-serviceable. Not a smartphone by any definition.
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