June 23rd, 2008
New call for open source device drivers
Perhaps nothing has kept Linux from desktop success more than a lack of open source device drivers.
So it should be no surprise that the Linux Foundation has renewed its call for open source device drivers.
The call comes complete with a whitepaper on the Linux driver market, a Q&A on the issue, and an essay by technical board chair James Bottomley on Linux graphics. The Q&A notes the foundation is making no legal claims in its statement.
The kernel developers also released a statement calling any closed-source Linux kernel module “harmful and undesirable,” an effort at proprietary lock-in, but again no legal claims were made.
So a call to all active Linux developers. Have you had to deal with closed source Linux modules, and how has it hurt you?
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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