-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tue, Mar 08, 2016 at 12:26:37PM +0100, deloptes wrote: > Jarle Aase wrote: > > > Do you know why these printers require binary drivers? I am asking both > > technically and rationally. > > I think > 1. probably license agreements between manufacturer and supplier (of > microchips etc) that prevent revealing information about hardware parts > 2. profit - cheep hardware sold for profit to much higher price - you do not > want to reveal how you make this cheep hardware work. Most of the companies > provide some part in closed fashion (firmware etc) and cover the heart of > the technology they develop. > 3. It is more confident the manufacturer provides the software than the > community reverse engineer the same. We should appreciate companies that > (still) support linux OS.
4. Better control (by the manufacturer) of "planned obsolescence". If the community controls the driver, they can tweak it to cope with changing protocols/requirements/whatever instead of having the user throw away the gadget and buy a new one. > BTW I'm using Epson scanner with it's iscan tool since wheezy. It works just > great - no need to update since first installation. > > Of course if you require high level of security you can not trust such > binaries, but if you are at this level of security I do not think you will > be working at the computer that much or at least use such kind of hardware. > In such case it is best to use analog equipment or PC in closed network. > You still have choice(s). No, Free Software is not *just* about of security. It offers more security as one of its (many) collateral benefits. Regards - -- tomás -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAlbes/gACgkQBcgs9XrR2ka6DgCdGTxRdgEiIsI1201NqP9RESs7 TFAAn1T4XvTJ/om8NK+nRYd5DPegxn12 =s5dg -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----