[ltp] Re: ACP modem driver comment

[Thomas Wimmer]

kfrechet@us.ibm.com wrote:
> 
> >>
> Why the reluctance on their part? Afterall, they've released
> instructions for installing RH6.1 on a 600e on their website,
> you'd think they would then assist said users to go online .
> 
> Is it just that they'd prefer us all to be using Windoze?
> <<
> 
> The main problem is that the ACP Modem is no longer under active
> development. Developing ACP Modem drivers for Linux would call for
> additional $$ that were not budgeted. As a result, it becomes
> difficult to justify the expense.
> 
> Which leads to the question, "Why not just open-source the ACP
> Modem driver?" The primary answer: There is much intellectual
> property in the source code, not all of which is owned by IBM.
> Open sourcing it would be a legal nightmare.

How about giving one (some) gifted and trusted linux-coder the
source with a NDA and releasing the resulting work "binary-only" ?

To my knowledge, this approach was done with the opengl/mesa drivers
for the 3DFX's voodoo chipset.

In this situation, IBM can release the source-code to a (some)
persons without violating some copyright-issues, and the
linux-community get their drivers.

I think that most linux-thinkpad users would prefer a closed-source
modem-driver over a non-existing open-source one.

> I would not say that there is *no* possibility of us developing an
> ACP Modem driver for Linux. Certainly there are numerous
> individual users who want ACP Modem support, and thanks to Bill
> Mair I have a fairly lengthy list of those users. :-)
> 
> IBM wants to do the right thing with Linux. However, we have to
> carefully choose where to spend our development $$. Since the
> newer ThinkPads use Lucent modems, and since we don't have big
> customers asking for Linux support for ThinkPads with ACP modems,
> it initially seems to make more sense to spend our money to get
> the newer machines working, rather than spending it on
> retro-fitting older hardware. That, of course, is the on-paper
> view, which may differ somewhat from reality.
> 
> -- Keith

Thomas
who *may* have some simplistic view of the whole licensing-issue
regarding the ACP-modems
-- 
Thomas Wimmer        |   When you're in a fight with an idiot,
thomas@wimmer.net    |   its difficult for other people
Stuttgart, Germany   |   to tell which one the idiot is.
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