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Re: The i2o Bus: A Conspiracy Against Free Software? (fwd)
I am glad to see that the message, which was forwarded by me, was
thought-provoking one.
On Tue, 20 May 1997, Shlomi Fish wrote:
> >The i2o Bus: A Conspiracy Against Free Software?
> >
> >Bruce Perens (bruce@pixar.com)
> >Wed, 16 Jul 97 11:40 PDT
> >
> >
> >Check out http://www.i2osig.org/ "i2o" is a developing "non-proprietary"
> >standard for high-performance computer peripherals. Unfortunately, it's a
> >closed standard, it requires a NDA, and you need a license to develop
> >software for it. Their terms are:
>
> Is it patented? What does Intel say about it? After all, it is based on
> Intel's system calls.
I don't have the vaguest idea. But Intel is now a big company and they
probably would support the other burly, big and mean guys.
> > Membership is $5000/year.
> > You can't develop software or hardware for it without being a member.
>
> But it probably means that if an OS has built-in support for this I20
> stuff, than software written for that specific OS need not pay many if they
> use I20 devices. Or so I understood from the site.
But if the OS will have I2O built-in support, then it cannot be
distributed as free software (in the FSF/GNU meaning).
> > You can't disclose source code for your drivers.
> > You must stop making hardware or software for it if you lose
> membership.
> > Members can vote out other members.
> >
> >The backers of this are Microsoft, Novell, Hewlet-Packard, and NETFrame.
> >It looks as if the i2o agreements are deliberately written to exclude free
> >software.
> >
> "Free software" as in the "Free Software Foundation" (i.e. GNU) or software
> that is distributed with no cost? Well, it certainly does not favour the
> GNU's "Source code must be included" approach. Nevertheless, drivers for
> free OSes could still be sold by a third party, or even distributed free of
> charge, if the other members of i2o-sig allow it.
I am sure that "free software" here is according to the FSF/GNU meaning.
The companies probably don't want to be stopped from distributing their
proprietary software for free when they can profit by getting their stuff
used by several people who can then be made to pay a lot for upgrades.
The drivers for free OS's would either be sold at exorbitant prices, or
not be developed or sold at all. The other I2O members WILL forbid any
kind of nonsense such as support for competing free OS's.
> The I20 FAQ said that "all UNIX endors are welcome to join." The question
> is if "UNIX vendors" also refer to the organizations behind
> freely-distributed UNIX-compatible OSes?
The members of I2O will probably decide to vote out such organizations.
Besides, it is against the principles of GNU copyright to participate in
such ventures.
> I don't think that many Hardware vendors would like to be tyranized by such
> an organization. So, if I20 does so, they may establish their own rival
> standard (such a stuff may be done anyway, perhaps by Intel or IBM).
The hardware vendors will create I2O compliant versions, and then suffer
from shortage of volunteers for writing, debugging, testing and extending
drivers for their stuff.
> Also, sooner or later, the system calls which are used to utilize the I20
> will be debugged out and published, outside the I2O members circle. If
> people start writing drivers using such non-I20-SIG originated code, I'm
> not quite sure that there is any legal measure the I20 members can do to
> prevent it.
They can prevent it if they can patent key aspects of the I2O. For 17
years.
> >I suspect that if i2o peripherals become popular, free operating systems
> >will be locked out from running on PC hardware.
> >
> Possibly, But I find it hard to believe that all HW vendors will use _only_
> I20 for the I/O (or other) devices. (from the reasons I mentioned above).
It is possible (see the horrible Windows 95 enhanced keyboards).
Therefore the Linux fans should educate the world about the
advantages of free software, so that customers won't buy hardware which
needs proprietary software to run.
Otherwise, it will take longer time until the world learns the truth
(which it will learn eventually - see the TI 99/4 example).
--- Omer
Internet E-mail: xlacha1@wizard.weizmann.ac.il
omerz@actcom.co.il
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{With apologies to Shlomi Fish, because my signature is now longer than his.}
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