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Papering over a binary blobPapering over a binary blobPosted Sep 29, 2011 14:39 UTC (Thu) by dwmw2 (subscriber, #2063)Parent article: Papering over a binary blob Weird. The USB version of the chip can have its complete firmware in SPI flash, which is what OLPC did for the 'Active Antennae' so it didn't need to be loaded at all; they operate as mesh repeaters when you just apply power. Can't the SDIO version of the chip do the same? And anyway, why in $DEITY's name wouldn't they just use a chip from someone who actually gives you the firmware in a sane form; aren't there Atheros chips which meet that requirement? There's OpenFWWF too but I'd be hesitant to recommend BRCM.
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Papering over a binary blob Posted Sep 29, 2011 23:47 UTC (Thu) by neilbrown (subscriber, #359) [Link]
When you want a chip that is available and reasonably priced in small volumes and also does everything that you want (I believe the one chip in GTA-04 does Wifi, Bluetooth, and GPS), then your options are limited.
I am certain the GTA-04 developers only chose a chip with closed firmware because there was no other option at a comparable price/functionality/availability point.
Of course if you know of a better device and can get a competitive quote for small quantity, I'm sure the developers would be very interested.
Building a fully open device that is so expensive that only a couple of people will buy it is not good business sense.
Papering over a binary blob Posted Oct 2, 2011 7:01 UTC (Sun) by mcgrof (guest, #25917) [Link]
Yeah, the carl9170 driver uses GPLv2 firmware. This is stupid.
Papering over a binary blob Posted Oct 3, 2011 10:15 UTC (Mon) by neilbrown (subscriber, #359) [Link]
Stupid might be a hasty judgment.
I asked Dr. Nikolaus Schaller, the lead developer for the GTA04 for his recollection on why the decision was made. You can read it here:
Note in particular that if a genuine alternative is available (at reasonable price in small quantities) it could be swapped in for the next board version (after the "Early Adopter" boards are out). So if you have a concrete suggestion, and particularly if you know of availability, I'm sure your input would be warmly received.
Papering over a binary blob Posted Oct 5, 2011 16:11 UTC (Wed) by wilck (subscriber, #29844) [Link]
In the same post you quoted, Nikolaus Schaller writes
"And I think we should do something today even if it is only 99% free."
If that's his position, why does he even bother with FSF's bizarre suggestion?
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