On Fri, May 15, 2009 at 10:31 AM, Robinson Tryon bishop.robinson@gmail.com wrote:
If software such as Splashtop and HyperSpace are based on the linux kernel, to what extent does that help Free Software and coreboot? Specifically, if a given set of hardware can support a proprietary instant-on system, to what extent will their kernel diffs enable coreboot and the linux kernel to run with at least the same level of functionality on that set of hardware?
In some ways it doesn't really help. The key parts are going to be in the binary blob that loads linux from flash.
In other ways it does really help. It shows that linux in flash is a commercially viable idea. A number of companies have been fighting this idea with FUD for 10 years now. One company even has demo'd linux-in-flash at private and open conferences for almost 5 years, but they still refuse to release it to the general public or even, in many cases, acknowledge its existence (strange but true).
I think Phoenix just gave the idea of linux-in-flash and virtualization in flash a huge dose of credibility. That's why it is nice that we had AVATT as a GSOC project -- we're there already!
Among other things, when CME asks vendors for linux-in-flash, the vendors can no longer say it is not practical, given that CME can buy it ...
Among other things, this last 10 years has been a lesson in how long it can take to get an idea into general use.
ron