[openbeos] Re: OS Propaganda.... A new world order!

>>Who said we couldn't use linux drivers ?
>>Just need to take care about where we put it, but we definitely can 
>>port a linux driver.
>
>According to the GPL we should make the kernel GPL too, sure we could 
just 
>ignore it, but could also create problems.

This is exactly the kind of dilemma that has M$ shorts in a twist over 
the GPL.  The question is, if someone not associated with OBOS (just to 
keep the lines clear) writes/ports a GPL driver for use with OBOS, do we 
have to GPL the OS?  If I write a GPL app which uses portions of M$ Word 
via COM, does M$ have to GPL Word?  What if my GPL app links to the 
standard OBOS libraries?  Clearly, these would be ludicrous claims to 
make, and would almost certainly never be supported in a court of law.  
The FSF surely understands what a publicity fiasco pursuing that kind of 
claim would be.

The long and short of this is that while the OBOS project should refrain 
from porting GPL drivers, there's nothing we can do to stop other people 
from doing so.  Those who do are probably in violation of the GPL simply 
because they can't force us to GPL the kernel -- the software that is 
"linking" with theirs.

There is also the issue of the fuzziness around dynamic linking.  If I 
write an app which is GPL'd and interfaces with another piece of GPL'd 
code and which accepts BMessages to drive its functionality, is any app 
which sends those messages considered dynamically linked to the GPL'd 
code?  If we write a driver layer which we dual-license (MIT/GPL) whose 
purpose is to interface directly to Linux drivers, are we in violation 
of the GPL?  Perhaps not legally, but certainly in spirit.  I think our 
best route is to study the driver code that's available and write 
drivers from scratch based on that research.  Even better would be to 
have two teams:  one researching, the other implementing.

Although this project has chosen open source in order to preserve BeOS, 
not because of open source zealotry, it would be stupid to piss off 
those who believe GPL is the one, true way.  They tend to be a very 
vocal lot and influencial simply because of the amount of racket they 
generate. =\

e

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the 
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
        -William Pitt, British prime-minister (1759-1806)

Other related posts: