Andreas Tille wrote: > On Mon, 19 Jan 2009, Johan Henriksson wrote: > >> http://mahogny.areta.org/temp/debs/ >> >> and here it is. I'm actually maintaining the linux port. unfortunately >> there is a pile of dirty licenses involved so I'm not sure this is ready >> for debian yet. for example, some of the code cannot be given out and >> some drivers require kernel modules to be built. you have to sign NDAs >> to get access to all the code. not fun at all. > > Thanks for this clarification. I updated the information at > > http://debian-med.alioth.debian.org/tasks/imaging.html#micromanager > > Please verify that the information is correct and reflects the current > state of our knowledge. I would like to discuss two questions: this is correct > > 1. Is there a chance to make reasonable packages from the > free parts and leave the non-free part at a separate place. this is possible. unfortunately the majority, or at least the interesting parts, happen to be non-free. so it's not really worth the effort at this point. > 2. Anybody willing to ask upstream to clean up their licenses? you can't imagine how much pressure we are putting on the responsible companies. unfortunately their IP lawyers haven't given up yet. they want to make sure the control codes are not given out. some of the hardware has to be reverse engineered (I have only signed one NDA to keep my hands clean for other vendors). still, they have softened up plenty over the years. if new buyers require open source drivers, we'll win. money talks.
if someone is willing to join in reverse engineering, it's simple. but you need the hardware. /Johan -- -- ------------------------------------------------ Johan Henriksson MSc Engineering PhD student, Karolinska Institutet http://mahogny.areta.org http://www.endrov.net -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [email protected] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [email protected]
