Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1030333AbWLTWHW (ORCPT ); Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:07:22 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1030378AbWLTWHW (ORCPT ); Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:07:22 -0500 Received: from main.gmane.org ([80.91.229.2]:51061 "EHLO ciao.gmane.org" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1030333AbWLTWHV (ORCPT ); Wed, 20 Dec 2006 17:07:21 -0500 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org From: Giuseppe Bilotta Subject: Re: Open letter to Linux kernel developers (was Re: Binary Drivers) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 23:06:43 +0100 Message-ID: <13yc6wkb4m09f$.e9chic96695b.dlg@40tude.net> References: <200612162007.32110.marekw1977@yahoo.com.au> <4587097D.5070501@opensound.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: host-84-221-17-93.cust-adsl.tiscali.it User-Agent: 40tude_Dialog/2.0.15.1 Posted-And-Mailed: yes Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 1496 Lines: 29 On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 23:34:53 +0200, Hannu Savolainen wrote: > For a professional developer of any software the decision of open > sourcing it is not easy. "Just for fun" developers have no problems > because they don't expect to be able to live on their work anyway. > However a professional developer can release software under GPL only if > it's considered invaluable or if there is some way to guarantee > sufficient income. Releasing something under GPL without a guaranteed > backup plan is like jumping from an airplane without parasuit. Except that we're talking about *hardware* companies here, not *software* companies. *Hardware* companies make money by selling *hardware*, not the software that drives it: in fact, they always distribute the 'software' they write (the drivers) for free (gratis). So while what you say is perfectly sensible for *software* developers, it has absolutely nothing to do with the closed source drivers *hardware* companies distribute. This all being said, I think that the only thing that can shake companies such as nVidia and ATI is a project such as the Open Graphics Card http://wiki.duskglow.com/tiki-index.php?page=Open-Graphics to succeed. -- Giuseppe "Oblomov" Bilotta Hic manebimus optime - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/