16 Aug
2005
16 Aug
'05
2:34 p.m.
On Tuesday 16 August 2005 11:51, Lee Revell wrote:
Please don't bring up the "non-free
firmware" debate, it's really a
non issue. Linus' position is that the firmware does not run on
the host CPU and thus is unaffected by the GPL licensing of the
Obviously it IS an issue if you have to use someone else's Windows box
to extract the firmware and if that means your USB keyboard is not
going to be plug and play under Linux. It's a practical
consideration, not just some academic or religious debate, and it
keeps Linux users from using this gear just the same as with
Winmodems. Why buy something you know you're going to have to mess
with for a couple hours (I know, I know, if you have a Windows
machine handy it's a couple minutes.... I myself don't) when there
are alternatives that need no messing with?
I have an Edirol PCR-30 and it just worked when I plugged it in. I
didn't mention it previously because it wasn't in the list of boards
he was asking about, but it is a nice little portable board and it
works fine (under Mandrake 10.1, no idea about Debian or anything
else.)
Rob