Re: New Linux based router made in israel

[Ira Abramov - Scalable Solutions]

Yesterday, Alex Shnitman blurbed:


>  > The following article has been on Slashdot, but what's more interesting to us
>  > about it is that it's manufactured in Israel by NBase.
>  > 
>  > http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/990406/ca_mrv_com_1.html
>  > 
>  > Which brings up another subject - how has all the maufacturers of products
>  > with Linux as the embedded OS complied with the GPL license?
> 
> What's the problem? Unless they modify the kernel in some way (which
> they pobably don't need to), they have nothing to worry about. And
> even if they do, they just need to put up a patch on their FTP site or 
> something. Not a big problem.

seems to me from reading the PR, that the linux at the heart of the
machine is a kernel, a daemon or two and some control mechanisms over
APIs for the ASICs. those APIs don't need to sit in the kernel, or can
sit as loadable binary modules, and all the rest can be pretty much
open. the PR sugests the customers can pretty much write and compile
their own enhancements and changes to what MRV put in there. I'd love to
hear it from them though.

basically, if they DID make changes to the kernel, they can decide to
give those patches only to paying customers (who are going to pay
through the nose for such hardware) and that does not violate the GPL
either.