The End of the Free PCI Device List (Update)

imann writes "For many years, Jim Boemler was the maintainer of a free PCI device table which reference all the PCI ID's of PCI Devices. This service is used by Free Operating Systems for keeping up to date their pci device list. That was a very usefull service for us (i was working in a Linux distro in the hardware suport team). It was wonderfull until the PCI-SIG had their lawyers cease and desisted him to stop this service because of the use of the PCI logo AND name ! You don't have the right to use the three letters P,C,I ! Incredible... So he was forced to close his website. This is a incredible loss for the hardware support in the Free Software world. I hope PCI-SIG will change its position ! Please support Jim." A friend emailed me to point out that many /.ers have been emailing the wrong person to complain....read on for details... Jamal wrote, "The story you posted is causing us a headache. Our CTO, Alan Deikman is being bombarded by emails from people reading that story. Alan is not the person in charge of the PCI SIG, his only sin is that Znyx did host the PCI sig in the early 90s and he was the list maintainer. This was a gracious act and should not be rewarded the way it is now. Infact he is trying to help the gent with that website to see if things get resolved." Alan's email was posted on the page we linked to, erroneously.

Comments

If that is the case...

[Nemith]

then slashdot is screwed with the usage of PCI. Just to help out.

PCI,PCI,PCI,PCI-SIG,PCI,PCI
P-C-I

There that should cement the usage of PCI in slashdot. Good day :)

Read the article!

[alannon]

Was it really a very good idea to use their logo? Did they make a very obvious attempt to make it clear that their web site was NOT affiliated with PCI-SIG? If you actually READ the cease and desist order you will see that their complaint is that it in its current form, the web site might (unintentionally, I'm sure) seem like an official resource published by PCI-SIG. FURTHERMORE, they even suggested that the author (an IBM employee) work through his employer to develop a database that can be placed on the OFFICIAL PCI-SIG web site.

This means that if he follows through on their suggestions, his resource will become an offical one backed by PCI-SIG. This entire matter hardly seems unreasonable. I certainly wish more companies would make similar offers of, "your unofficial resource for our product is infringing on our trademark, but we'd like let you move it onto our web site instead."

Re:Boycott!

[gmhowell]

No, on an Apple II, instead of wasting time playing Solitaire and Minesweeper, I'd be wasting my time waiting for the freakin' game to load! Although not as bad as the C-64:)

At least you picked the Disk II instead of that bastard DuoDisk.