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Alliance for Linux Set Top Boxes

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the lets-get-it-on dept.

An anonymous reader noted this article running over at Linux Devices talking about an alliance of companies working together to standardize Linux Set Top Boxes. Bigger names include ATI and Tivo. There are also a bunch of more or less irrelevant companies on the list too so the hype about 24 companies isn't really worth noting. But in the end, I'll believe it when I see products actually taken to market.

2 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Re:This worries me by wiredog · · Score: 5
    Yeah, the only thing worse would be if one company were able to set the standard for a programming language that many of us use.

    BTW, QNX is not a linux clone. Unix clone, kinda-sorta-maybe, but not linux.

    --

    Best Slashdot Co
  2. You're misinformed by teg · · Score: 5

    Just thinking back to the wars between distributions, Red Hat, who invented Linux

    We didn't invent Linux, or even the concept of a Linux distribution. Red Hat Linux was the first distribution with a decent package system, and overtook the previous leader, Slackware. And Slackware wasn't the first one either... it replaced SLS as the leader earlier.

    and brought it to the marketplace, has their own proprietary code contained within the source

    That's not correct - our kernels don't contain proprietary code. The only proprietary code in Red Hat Linux is netscape 4.x, which we intend to replace with mozilla (already included, the question is when we can drop netscape 4.x without users complaining too much). Our kernels come with full source code - and if you look in the SRPM, you'll find all the patches nicely separated and categorized.

    Why do you think that they give pre-compiled kernels?

    So we can be sure that the kernels are working and tested, and compiled with a known good toolchain, to name two reasons.