Op 02-03-15 om 14:58 schreef Paul Boddie: > On Monday 2. March 2015 14.26.02 Paul van der Vlis wrote: >> >> I am most interested in the devices what have replaceable firmware. >> Because somebody could do bad things with it, like they did with the >> firmware of harddisks. > > I think there definitely needs to be more discussion around firmware which > can > or cannot be upgraded, particularly since a lot of people seem to disagree > with the FSF's position on this.
For me there is not so much difference between to upload closed-firmware by the OS or to have a flashrom with closed-firmware feeding such a controller with cloesed-firmware. (But closed-firmware should not be distributed with an open source OS.) When it's about firmware on a non-flashable ROM, I have the same conclusion as the FSF. I would like to have open hardware/firmware, but that's not easy to realize. For me closed firmware is not the biggest problem, but I would like to make a sha256sum of it for security. > From one perspective, making the firmware > immutable is a bad thing for people who want to fix or improve it, ultimately > consigning hardware to waste if it turns out to be critically flawed, but > from > another perspective, if only the manufacturer is in a position to upgrade the > firmware, then they are exercising rights that they deny to the hardware's > owners. Correct. But realize that maybe not only the manufacturer can do it. The code could be stolen, confiscated, extorted, or "part of a deal". China now wants sourcecode before buying hardware. > It's understandable to say that if there's a choice between only some people > having the right to upgrade firmware and nobody being able to do it, then the > latter prevents one group of people from having power over the other, > potentially. However, there's always the argument that such power can be > exercised by merely getting the firmware "right first time" (for whatever > purpose) and then relinquishing the right to upgrade in order to satisfy the > FSF criteria. > > Sorry to drag things off topic, although I'll gladly point out Novena [1] for > anyone not already aware of it as a useful reference for such matters. > > Paul > > [1] http://www.kosagi.com/w/index.php?title=Novena_Main_Page This is really interesting hardware. Maybe I will order it, is there more information available? I would like to read a "critical article". With regards, Paul van der Vlis. -- Paul van der Vlis Linux systeembeheer, Groningen http://www.vandervlis.nl/ _______________________________________________ Discussion mailing list [email protected] https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
