Comments are intermixed below:
Gerhard Mack wrote:
>
> On Sat, 19 Sep 1998, Michal Jaegermann wrote:
>
> > Erik Andersen <andersen@inconnect.com> writes:
> >
> > > I say we have everything to gain by supporting this, and little to lose.
> > > We get binary only drivers for unsupported devices, and then when we
> > > get a free driver that is better written, everyone will use it because
> > > of the inherent advantages of a free driver.
> >
> > Why do you think that you will ever see a free driver? A pat answer
> > will be "You may buy our binary driver which works on your machine so
> > why do you need specs? Our driver is the best possible in any case".
> > And of course non-Intel Linux crowd (Alpha, Sparc, m68k, ARM, MIPS, .... )
> > will be screwed. You will maybe hear "Ah, those!" or maybe even not that.
>
> Does anyone pay for drivers for Windows? I haven't seen any sources for
> that. The cost of the windows driver is built into the cost of the
> hardware whether we make our own drovers or not, I don't see that changing
> any time soon.
>
> Also :
>
> >UDI allows device drivers to be portable across both hardware platforms
> >and
> >operating systems without any changes to the driver source. This
> >significantly lowers the cost of driver development, speeds
> >time-to-market
> >of new devices, and allows manufacturers to allocate development resource
> >on improving device performance, features and functionality. SCO held the
> >first public demonstration of this technology at SCO Forum98 last month,
> >running the same driver under the SCO OpenServer, SCO UnixWare 2,
> >UnixWare
> > 7, and the Hewlett-Packard HP-UX operating systems.
>
> I'm starting to wonder how many of you actual read the post from SCO.
> Cross hardware platforms ? Were did it say Intel only ?
The change occurred when Intel decided that Project UDI would be
a good idea for Intel-based UNIX servers. Please read the below
URL.
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1998/37/ns-5501.html
Below is a brief quote from this URL
<Begin Quote>
Rattner was talking during the week that Intel announced its
decision to support Project UDI (Uniform Driver Interface),
a Unix industry initiative to develop a single device driver
implementation that will work across different Unix operating
systems running on Intel platforms. Project UDI is made up of
representatives from Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, SCO and Sun
as well as Adaptec, Bit3 and Interphase. Intel is to provide
information on interfaces and initiatives as well as engineering
resources to help complete a reference design. The complete
specification is due to be delivered at the next Intel Developer
Forum in February.
<End Quote>
Please note who is writing the reference platform: Intel
Please note what Rattner stated in the very first line:
"to develop a single device driver implementation that will
work across different UNIX operatiog systems running on
Intel platform."
Granted the proof-of-concept was cross platform.
Please refer to http://www.sco.com.udi, with Intel entering
to the picture is would appear that cross platform has been
replaced with Intel specific.
>
>
> > It is hard to predict what will happen but I think that the danger
> > is real. Such course of events would drastically change a nature
> > and prospects of Linux. Among other things it would pull it back
> > strongly into Intel-only camp. How strongly depends on how many
> > important drivers you get only in a commercial form. Once it will
> > turn out that a control can be exercised that way you will find
> > this situation more and more often.
>
> I agree it can change the prospects of Linux, but why do we fear that?
> According the announcement this was all cross platform. We should be
> arguing this stuff on it's technical points not it's philosophical ones.
> The anti corporate religion is really strange when you consider who is
> sponsoring some of the Linux FTP sites I've seen around the net.
>
> Gerhard
>
> --
> Gerhard Mack
-- Terry L. Ridder Blue Danube Software (Blaue Donau Software) "We do not write software, we compose it."When the toast is burnt and all the milk has turned and Captain Crunch is waving farewell when the Big One finds you may this song remind you that they don't serve breakfast in hell ==Breakfast==Newsboys
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