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OEMs should: Open source ~ the old hardware drivers
Posted: 2017-11-11 04:34
by makh
The Hardware Manufacturers like Micro Processors, Wifi, Gaming Devices and others, should open source their closed source drivers after 1 to 3 years. It wouldnt really matter, as they would have had a cutting edge over their competitors already, and they have made their profits.
... and most probably, by this time, their devices can better run on the next linux and debian. It may also benefit the linux development.
Just a thought.
Re: OEMs should: Open source ~ the old hardware drivers
Posted: 2017-11-11 10:18
by debiman
sometimes they do.
some of them even open-source current drivers, because they realize it is rather going to INcrease hardware sales than DEcrease.
Re: OEMs should: Open source ~ the old hardware drivers
Posted: 2017-11-13 16:40
by makh
I hope this "some" and "sometimes" gets to "nearly all".
Re: OEMs should: Open source ~ the old hardware drivers
Posted: 2017-11-19 14:30
by IzayoiFlandre
Any examples of companies that indeed do this? I'm intrigued
Re: OEMs should: Open source ~ the old hardware drivers
Posted: 2017-11-23 23:27
by makh
Re: OEMs should: Open source ~ the old hardware drivers
Posted: 2017-11-24 00:56
by Bulkley
Big companies cater to the whims of their biggest customers. A few individuals running Linux on their home machines don't register at all on a corporate to-do list.
Re: OEMs should: Open source ~ the old hardware drivers
Posted: 2017-11-24 16:51
by debiman
i think they simply make the calculation
1. how much will it cost us to open-source all or part of our code (probably next to nothing)
2. how much are we likely to gain from it
if 2. is larger than 1., they'll do it.
and since the number of linux users has grown, in the last 1.5 decades, from "infinitesimally small" to "slightly more than infinitesimally small", the chances of 2. being larger than 1. have also grown.
there's nothing idealistic about it.