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SubjectRe: Solaris 2.6 and Linux
   From: Andrew Tridgell <tridge@samba.anu.edu.au>
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 12:00:48 +1000

I think you overestimate the legal difficulties of using GPL code in
embedded systems.

As an example, look at www.whistle.com. They sell an embedded system
called a InterJet that has Samba (which is under the GPL) built in.

There are different kinds of embedded systems. The Interjet is
basically a computer with some turnkey software in it.

There are also people who make embedded systems which ultimately might
end up in your car, or refridgerator, or home automation system, or
whatever. There, the software is more like microcode, and the embedded
system might be wrapped into a bigger subcomponent, which is then put
into some bigger product.

So for example, take an embedded system (say, some kind of
radio/location security device) which is embedded inside a car radio,
which is then packaged as part of a car. If at each stage of the
embedded system, you need to carry over the fact that "this car contains
a radio which contains a security device which contains software in ROM
which uses the GNU libc, and here's the FTP site to obtain the GNU libc
source code," do you really think that (a) the car owner will really
care, and (b) the automobile manufacturer might simply decide that it's
much simpler to use another radio that doesn't require having this kind
of disclaimer in the owner's manual?

Suppose you have car with ten or twenty of such subcomponents, all from
varying different manufacturers, and all requiring a different FTP site
where you can download a slightly different version of the GNU libc
source code. Doesn't this seem a little bit ridiculous to you?

Well, apparently it seemed really silly to Cygnus's customers, anyway,
and so Cygnus has a completely free (no GPL strings attached) version of
libc for their embedded systems customers.

In any case, what does this have to do with the Linux kernel?

- Ted


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