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Dish Network Dishes Source Code for DVR

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the half-the-battle dept.

An anonymous reader writes "According to Dish Network they are accommodating 'requests for the portions of the DISH 921 DVR source code that are subject to the GNU Public License, or GPL. In compliance with the terms of the GPL, we are making this source code available to the public to download. Please note that the DISH 921 DVR software also includes some proprietary elements that are not subject to the GPL. You cannot create a working DISH 921 DVR software build without the additional proprietary code. Do not replace or add any software to the DISH 921 DVR with items compiled from these source trees. Doing so will void all warranties and cause the unit to fail.'"

3 of 337 comments (clear)

  1. GPL != GNU Public License by gimpboy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, GPL is the General Public License.

    --
    -- john
  2. Re:Odd caveat by resiak · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, that's not true. If you're calling a function like that, you have linked the GPLed code to your homebrew code, and so the GPL's "viral" nature kicks in --- if you release the binaries to the world, you must release your own code under the GPL to anyone to whom you supply binaries.

    The example you were looking for is something like the following:

    #!/usr/bin/perl
    # This file is covered by the GPL, blah blah.

    sub frobnitzigate {
    #return "No frobbing possible!";
    return `a-binary-we-dont-want-to-gpl`; # Added by Evil Company(TM)
    }

    # blah

    Now you don't have to release the source to a-binary-we-dont-want-to-gpl --- this is what the GPL calls "mere aggregation", and is (probably) what has happened with the DVR stuffs.

  3. i.e. non-compliant by Dwonis · · Score: 4, Informative
    You cannot create a working DISH 921 DVR software build without the additional proprietary code.

    That doesn't sound like GPL-compliance to me. From the GPL:

    The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete source code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the executable.