Why Torvalds is sitting out the GPLv3 process (Linux.com)

Why Torvalds is sitting out the GPLv3 process (Linux.com)

I am not a lawyer, let alone a German lawyer, but I find it hard to believe that one would find in "you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs" a requirement that you be able to install the changed software in a particular device and have that device be able to do the same things as before and lie about its identity to services it uses.

I'm not a psychiatrist, but I find it hard to comprehend your mental problems here ;-). If you buy a TiVo, you get a software that is specifically tailored to the device you bought - it's a Linux system ported to the TiVo hardware. Unchanged, it only runs on said TiVo hardware, slightly changed, it runs nowhere at all. It seems to be obvious to me that "change the software" for a device that has hardware and software means to change it to run on said hardware. You bought them as one piece.

The four freedoms allow you to change the software that comes as part of the device - and for me, it is obvious that this means to change the software to run on the same device again. It is the device that came with the copyrighted software, so the device maker has to follow the terms of the license. Your words sound as if there was no relation between Linux and the TiVo device.

I've no problem with GPL software put into a ROM, as long as the ROM is in a socket or easy to solder out for replacement. I would also not have a problem with the TiVo if it was feasible to replace the TPM with one where you know the key, or render it inactive by replacing some boot firmware (similar to the Xbox mods). The only requirement I see from the GPL and its spirit is that the manufacturer must provide instructions how to do that (mod the device, exchange the ROM or TPM).

One argument I've heard is that the TiVo is rather pathetic hardware, and you really don't want to run anything on it. This might be true for this special case, but look at other cases. The PS3 for example is very interesting hardware. Sony could do the same with the PS3 Linux what TiVo did, Sony is no more trustworthy (remember the Sony/BMG rootkit?), and the PS3 certainly contains the necessary DRM stuff. Now this would be a completely different story. I'm quite sure the free software world would not stop tinkering with that PS3 until they've managed to run their own Linux version - where possible, they would probably go to court, as well.