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OpenBSD Activism Shows Drivers Can Be Freed

Posted by timothy on from the mindshare-will-follow dept.

grey writes "The Age has a story up about how the OpenBSD community has been contacting wireless chipset vendors to license their firmware binaries under terms that would allow for free redistribution. This is important, because even with existing GPL and BSD licensed drivers for these chipsets, the drivers don't function without first loading onerously licensed firmware binaries which can only be acquired from the vendor, not shipped by an OSS provider." (Read more, below.)

grey continues "This means that currently, these wireless NIC's don't work out of the box on OSS install or boot media. In just the first 4 days, hundreds of users wrote and called vendors, and already 2 vendors freed their firmware, and several others are in discussions with Theo de Raadt about taking similar steps.

We need your help! TI has still not responded at all. You can call or write to Bill Carney, - Director of Business Development of TI's WNBU to add to the approximately 400 well written messages the OpenBSD community has already sent to TI. We hope that you'll help, and if you do please keep messages polite and to the point. Please remember, we are not asking for the vendors to open source their firmware under the GPL or BSD licenses (though we wouldn't complain if they did). Instead, ask if they would simply email Theo to open discussions on licensing their firmware binaries under terms that allow for free redistribution. If changed, these firmware binaries would then be able to be included with OSS software and function with existing BSD and GPL licensed device drivers from the start.

You can find other contacts for target vendors here, here, here, and here, and it can't hurt to sign this petition. These changes aide all OSS efforts, not just OpenBSD. As you can see from the OpenBSD community's results already, contacting these vendors really does make a difference. We're sure that with the numbers of OSS minded readers in the Slashdot community you can really help with the heavy lifting where fewer numbers of BSD users have already begun to succeed, and all Open Source Software users will benefit."

9 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. If you love your driver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    You must set it free.

  2. Bahh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Bahh. What about when we have cases of driver hooks being yanked from the kernel simly because of inflated egos? (I.e. PWC/PWCX)

    1. Re:Bahh by DragonHawk · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Requiring it to be GPL'ed is like requiring that the files I read and write be GPL'ed because they passed thru the kernel."

      Don't give RMS any ideas.

      (I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I actually think the concept of copyleft is a Good Thing. But I take the shot when I see it.)

      --

      dragonhawk@iname.microsoft.com
      I do not like Microsoft. Remove them from my email address.
  3. what's with 'related links' ? by ch-chuck · · Score: 4, Funny

    comparison shop for 'your rights online' ? wtf???

    That's like the old Lycos at one time put in this automated advertising thing, so you search for libstdc++-devel-3.2.2-5 and it comes back with "Find bargains on libstdc++-devel-3.2.2-5 at Amazon.com!", "See what people are saying about libstdc++-devel-3.2.2-5 on movietalk.com!"

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
    1. Re:what's with 'related links' ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      it was even worse when you tried some not-ver-politicaly-correct-isms.

      Find great bargains on black people at amazon.com!

      Read reviews from people who bought black people at cnet.com!

      Automation is a good thing.. it reminds us (daily) why people should not and can not be replaced by computers.

  4. Re:firmware are not the crown jewels by xsbellx · · Score: 2, Funny

    My God man, this is Slash Dot!

    We just cannot allow you to read the article, understand it AND post an eloquent, on-topic response. Please stop this nonsense!

    In all seriousness sir/madam, GREAT response!

    --
    If VISTA is the answer, you didn't understand the question
  5. What the hell were they thinking?! by FyRE666 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Honestly, why would someone submit this to Slashdot? I mean, they've managed to submit hundreds of "well written" messages to vendors, and now they're about to fuck it all up by encouraging the illiterate, and largely uninformed masses here to send in their own special brands of wisdom.... Then there's the goatse fans, tubgirl gang, "BSD is dying" trolls and other shining stars of the forum just waiting to get in on the fun... ... oh well, it could have worked ;-)

    --
    Code, Hardware, stuff like that.
  6. "You have 1,000,000 new messages" by IgD · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here is the reply I got when e-mailing him:

    "This is an automatic reply.
    I will be away from the office on business in Europe from 12n Monday 11/1 through Friday 11/5. During this time, there may be a delay responding to your email. /b"

    I wonder what his expression will be on Monday when he checks his e-mail...

  7. Activism Shows Drivers Can Be Freed by roman_mir · · Score: 1, Funny

    I want to break free
    I want to break free
    I want to break free from your lies
    You're so self satisfied I don't need you
    I've got to break free
    God knows God knows I want to break free

    ---
    Shit, I hope so, driving is a bitch in Toronto, I don't know what I would do if it was shown that drivers could not be freed. I say: Free Drivers, Free Drivers!

    --
    You can't handle the truth.