Kernel Modules that Lie About Their Licenses

jon787 writes "An email to LKML about the Linuxant's HSF Modem drivers lying to the kernel about their license has prompted some interesting replies. Lots of talk about how to effectively blacklist these kind of things; a patch is here. One of the more interesting is this one. Linus as always has his $0.02."

Comments

/0 is like a period, it ends the statement.

[LostCluster]

Since /0 is the string-termination character, would it be possible to convince a court to see the decloration the way the kernel does, and therefore hold them to the GPL since they're the ones who declared it?

My modem driver must be broken...

[Anonymous Coward]

The site's not loading.

When it's acceptable to lie

[Anonymous Coward]

If the Kernel asks you if you think its gained wait or if its ass looks big in those drivers.

Re:When it's acceptable to lie

[Trigun]

In lbs and oz. in the U.S., in stones in Britan, In Kilos and grams virtually everywhere else.

Re:When it's acceptable to lie

[DA-MAN]

`bzcat linux-2.4.2x.tar.bz2 | lpr`

Then weigh the resulting print job! EZ Huh?

Re:When it's acceptable to lie

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, you should have more luck with 2.6. I hear that it scales much better.

Linus' take

[Call Me Black Cloud]

If we wait in this pumpkin patch long enough, the Great Pumpkin will rise up and give out toys. It will then float to the offices of the evil developers and smite them.

Re:Of course Linus has something to say.

[Entropius]

I don't think they were trivializing anything--rather alluding to Linus' tendency to make pithy, and often insightful, comments on pretty much everything.

Re:circumcise?! HELLO, MCFLY?!

[Anonymous Coward]

rotfmao. circumcise, vomit and black, going to +5 informative. Way to troll.

My God!

[WwWonka]

...lying to the kernel about their license

Insubordination at its worst! Lying to the kernel!

Private Function, get Corporal Punishement on the phone and have them admonished immediatley!

I know!

[ignavusincognitus]

Let's add cryptographic checks to the module loader. The vendors will need to have their modules signed if they want them to be loaded. Before signing, license terms will be verified. This way we can also guarantee that the modules do not affect stability.

I'm sure this hans't been done before.

Spend a penny

[eltoyoboyo]

Linus' 2 cents undoubtedly cost the hoster of his message more than that in /.ed bandwidth.

Re:Get over it

[Lord of Ironhand]

Have you actually seen the user agent string for Internet Explorer? It starts with Mozilla.

Re:Why bother supporting obsolete hardware?

[tomhudson]

For less than the price you pay for a winmodem plus their crippleware^Wdifferently-abled driver, why not just hop over to pricewatch.com and buy a real modem and be done with it.

Your box will also run faster, as you won't be mimicking hardware functionality in software.

It will also be easier to combine 2 or more modem connections in a low-end box for faster speed.

Re:Of course Linus has something to say.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, just who does he think he is?!? He's acting like he invented Linux or something.

Re:LinuxAnt is really screwed?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not about robbing you of the knowledge or joy you gained by creating the code. It is about robbing other people of the right to enjoy and improve the software you wrote.

So I suppose you don't have any curtains on your bathroom so you don't rob other people the right to enjoy watching you take a shower?