> In a wider perspective, a hardware vendor who wants to support Linux
> currently has three options:
You forgot one
>
> 1) Release hardware specs and let someone write a driver.
> 2) Write a driver himself and release it in binary form only.
> 3) Provide an API for dealing with the hardware, and have someone
> develop a driver based on this API (the "Olicom" way).
4) Write a driver himself and release it under GPL in full (i.e. with
full source).
Nr 4) is the preferred option from the Linux community point of view.
This may be totally naive but personally I fail to see what a company
in the business of selling hardware could gain by not giving out
source code.
Anyway, thanks for at least supporting Linux in someway or another!
Greetings,
Jan