>> there is essentially no documention on many, many boards >> and chips "just in case we want to rip off their IP'. > > You're probably right. The only explanation is that these suckers > actually know that their product can easily be improved upon. > > ++L
Another thing I've ran into was the small companies that thought it was easier to write drivers themselves than to write good documentation on their parts. The driver author just has to shout over the cube wall. They have to write the drivers anyway. Intel seems to be schizophrenic about it. Some docs we can get with a NDA and some are on the web. Not clear why. A recent driver was done with no docs but good support from the company. Some companies, LIKE BROADCOM!, won't sell part to Coraid because <mocking high pitched voice> we're too small </mocking high pitched voice>. No docs, no support, hope they fall into a large hole.
