Re: wireless (was Re: 2.6.18 -mm merge plans)

[Jeff Garzik <jeff@garzik.org>]

On Mon, Jun 05, 2006 at 09:54:51AM +0100, Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> On Sun, Jun 04, 2006 at 09:06:36PM -0400, Jeff Garzik wrote:
> > On Sun, Jun 04, 2006 at 01:50:11PM -0700, Andrew Morton wrote:
> > > acx1xx-wireless-driver.patch
> > > fix-tiacx-on-alpha.patch
> > > tiacx-fix-attribute-packed-warnings.patch
> > > tiacx-pci-build-fix.patch
> > > tiacx-ia64-fix.patch
> > > 
> > >   It is about time we did something with this large and presumably useful
> > >   wireless driver.
> > 
> > I've never had technical objections to merging this, just AFAIK it had a
> > highly questionable origin, namely being reverse-engineered in a
> > non-clean-room environment that might leave Linux legally vulnerable.
> 
> As are at leasdt a fourth of linux drivers.  Andrew, please just go ahead

Hardly.  The -vast majority- of drivers I've dealt with in my time
hacking the kernel are either blessed by the vendor, or are of
unquestionably legal origin.

It's a good thing I pay attention to this issue, too, Mr. Just Go Ahead
And Merge It.


> Please don't let this reverse engineering idiocy hinder wireless driver
> adoption, we're already falling far behind openbsd who are very successfull
> reverse engineering lots of wireless chipsets.

Thanks for your highly professional, legal opinion :)

	Jeff