Re: Linux, UDI and SCO.

Brandon S. Allbery KF8NH (allbery@kf8nh.apk.net)
Sat, 19 Sep 1998 14:38:04 -0300


In message <ABmt-0s8NK@khim.mccme.ru>, "Khimenko Victor" writes:
+-----
| In <199809191621.MAA28669@hilfy.ece.cmu.edu> Brandon S. Allbery KF8NH (allber
| y@kf8nh.apk.net) wrote:
| BK> In message <AB4Sz0sO54@khim.mccme.ru>, "Khimenko Victor" writes:
| BK> | Problem is following: biggest possible harm from UDI is NOT even from U
| DI fol
| BK> | ks
| BK> | by itself. The biggest threat is from hardware manufacturers. Without U
| DI we
|
| BK> If we require that UDI drivers be GPLed then your worst case cannot happe
| n
| BK> because such vendors' UDI drivers will not be usable with Linux.
|
| Not GPL'ed. LGPL'ed. Since drivers must be usable for HP-UX, Solaris, SCO (an
| d
| even for M$ Windows if M$ will use UDI layer :-)
+--->8

But do we really want the proprietary folks mooching off our hard work and
returning nothing? We do not want them to kill free software, but by the
same token we don't want them to be leeches; free software isn't so much a
socialism as an economic system where labor and services are the medium of
exchange, and so far the UDI folks propose not to "pay" for what they take.

| BK> Do you worry about the black helicopters as well?
|
| Hm. I'm could not understood your sentence. I'm seen "Black Shark" few times
| but since I'm could do nothing about it I'm not bother...
+--->8

I didn't check your domain until after I wrote that, sorry. It's something
of a US-specific joke/comment; from your domain I'd guess that you've seen
worse and there was no joking about it. :-/

| You misunderstood me. UDI is not related to M$ as of yet (I hope at least).
| But UDI existence could GREATLY simplyify Linux destroing task for M$. And
+--->8

Not really, since if it did it would simultaneously make commercial Unix
stronger --- unless it involved killing both at once, which is irrelevant to
UDI because nobody's going to drop their proprietary driver interfaces while
adding UDI. (That would be suicidal, because older third party drivers
would likely not be made available in a UDI version.)

-- 
brandon s. allbery	[os/2][linux][solaris][japh]	 allbery@kf8nh.apk.net
system administrator	     [WAY too many hats]	   allbery@ece.cmu.edu
electrical and computer engineering					 KF8NH
carnegie mellon university

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