From: Russell King <rmk@arm.linux.org.uk>
Message-Id: <200102181343.f1IDhTI15959@flint.arm.linux.org.uk>
Subject: Re: [LONG RANT] Re: Linux stifles innovation...
To: hps@tanstaafl.de
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 13:43:29 +0000 (GMT)
Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
In-Reply-To: <96od5j$ja6$1@forge.intermeta.de> from "Henning P. Schmiedehausen" at Feb 18, 2001 11:54:27 AM
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Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org

Henning P. Schmiedehausen writes:
> The matter with me is: "Vendors AAA ships its hardware product with a
> driver for i386/Linux". The driver may be closed source, but at least
> there _is_ a driver. Russell now says: "This is bad, because I can't use
> the driver for my ARM box. So the vendor should ship no driver at
> all. This is better than a i386-only driver". 

I thank you again to NOT put words in my mouth that I didn't say.

> If the hardware is "NOT SUPPORTED BESIDES LINUX/i386" and you have an
> ARM, the solution is simple: DON'T BUY IT. VOTE WITH YOUR MONEY. If
> Linux/ARM starts becoming a sigificant part of the market share,
> vendor AAA will either lose to vendor BBB or release a driver for ARM.

When there is no vendor BBB to supply such a driver?  This is my point.

> And Russell can buy a vendor supported driver for Linux/ARM.

Not possible.  There are none at the present time, and have been none
over the past 8 years for ARM Linux.  Only recently, because of the hard
work put into ARM Linux by the ARM community as a whole have the ARM
vendors started to take Linux seriously.  There are now around 50 or
so different ARM machines that can run Linux, but most of them are not
of a PC form factor.  All of them are committed to open source.  None
of them write printer drivers.  In fact, for a vast majority of them
a printer driver would not make sense.

> And I actively _DON'T_ want _YOU_ to decide what _I_ want.

I don't want to tell you want you want either.  Neither do I want
you putting words into my mouth that I did not say.  IMHO if you
carry on in this light, and you have been shouted down for doing
so, I am in full support of those who shouted you down, whether they
be in the open source, closed source or whatever arena you care to
think of.

As a mark of good nature, I will dismiss all of your mistakes thus far.
However, if you carry on mis-representing and mis-quoting me in this way,
then I shall have to demand a full public appology, and demand that you
decist in doing so.

> I WANT THE CHOICE. If I have no choice, I buy the product on another
> platform.

That is your right.  No one is taking that away from you.  However, I
want the choice to develop what I want, how I want, and allow other
people to contribute to this development.

If you would like to carry this discussion on in private, then I'm quite
willing to accept.  However, it is off-topic for the Linux-Kernel mailing
list.  If you wish to keep this public, then as before, please don't
reply directly to me or CC: me.  Thanks.

--
Russell King (rmk@arm.linux.org.uk)                The developer of ARM Linux
             http://www.arm.linux.org.uk/personal/aboutme.html

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