On 11/24/06, Hamie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
1. Does an open (e.g. fully documented) register interface and instructions (mnemomnics and assembly) constitute as at least partially open hardware? This would include most microprocessors... And possibly be a contenscious issue with many people...
I would call that "Fully documented hardware".
2. Or does open hardware to people mean you have to include the rights to copy at the HDL level?
That is what I'd call "open hardware".
3. Somewhere between... Where does closed firmware come into it? If the HDL is available, and the driver is available, what if most of the value add are in closed source firmware? Should a vendor be able to take open source hardware, add closed source firmware & use open source software for the driver?
Twisted. :) Unfortunately, I don't think it would be wise to have the hardware impose restictions on the software. Not everyone always looks at the source code to their open source software. What they have is the ability to look at it if they WANT to. Having a closed-source driver or firmware for a piece of open source hardware doesn't change anything, because you can always reuse that open hardware in another environment where you can use a different driver and/or firmware. Software should be governed by OS distro policy. If they don't want any binary blobs, having open hardware gives them the opportunity to replace the driver and/or firmware with their own open source version. With open hardware, lots of things are different. If someone uses a piece of open hardware in a closed way, it's still good for us, because (a) they had to pay for it, and (b) they're dependent on us. The only time their actions are restricted is if they try to DUPLICATE the hardware. Then the IP license comes into effect. Otherwise, the hardware was duplicated by someone authorized to do so, and now it's a physical good that can be bought and sold at will.
4. Should the OHF define multiple levels of open? Or just one?
If that helps us, yes. _______________________________________________ Open-graphics mailing list [email protected] http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com)
