Messages in this thread | | | Date | Sat, 19 Sep 1998 01:17:18 +0200 | From | Erik Corry <> | Subject | Re: Linux, UDI and SCO. |
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In article <36028895.339C1503@tbcnet.com> you wrote: > There are basically only two ways this UDI scenario can work.
> 1. All the commercial backers of it, switch to using Linux for their OS > and they just build hardware, or in SCO's case additional software > add-ons.
> 2. SCO releases all UNIX source code under the GNU GPL, HP releases all > sources code of HP-UX, Sun releases all source code for SunOS and > Solaris.
I don't see it this way at all. There are two other ways it could work:
3) The hardware producers release their drivers under two licenses. The first is almost anything they like (eg proprietary or XFree86-like, ie BSD without the advertising clause) and the second is the GPL.
4) The drivers are released as binary-only modules, already expressly allowed by Linus's interpretation of the GPL. The standard kernel includes enough hooks (GPLled and probably written by SCO) to run UDI drivers.
There's no problem. Obviously option 3 is better for us (and probably for the hardware manufacturers), but 4 is no disaster, and we are still free to write our own GPLled drivers like we do now. Both options presuppose that UDI is formulated in a way so that it is possible for Linux to support it without too many gross hacks to the current ways of doing things in the kernel.
We've been crying out for driver support from the hardware vendors for years, and when it finally shows up, we slam it because they want to support other Unixes at the same time.
-- Erik Corry
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