On 2000-05-26 at 15:36 -0700, Joey Hess wrote: > This is a nice hypothetical, but here's a quote from VA's Chris DiBona > that I read on slashdot > (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/05/26/1251258&mode=nested) > > The only code that is from Intel in object code form > is the BIOS and motherboard controller firmware. There > is no other object code on the system. The IA-64 > Linux kernel is completely open and has been out of NDA > and licensed under the GPL since February. > > Do you still have concerns? If so, I'd like to just forward them to > Chris for comments.
I readily concede that my concerns were hypothetical, but what else could they be? I suppose that promising not to reverse engineer the BIOS and motherboard controller firmware is not likely to lead to an egregious problem, but my point is that you never know. I have a great deal of respect for Chris DiBona, and I would credit his views on this as deserving of great weight. On the other hand, I also recall Intel pulling the "Appendix H" stunt some years ago, and that makes me, personally, uncomfortable about whether they "get" the Open Source concept. -- Mike
