Re: Debian trademark [was: Debian GNU/w32, may ready to be started?]

["John H. Robinson, IV" <jhriv@ucsd.edu>]

On Sat, Dec 08, 2001 at 01:39:07PM +1100, Hamish Moffatt wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 07, 2001 at 10:53:38AM -0800, John H. Robinson, IV wrote:
> > i hesitate to call ``firmware'' ``software''
> 
> Why's that? It's compiled or assembled like regular software
> and is usually written by software engineers. So why isn't
> it software?

firmware is a blurred line.   this is why i hesitate.

if you take a rom, (not prom, not eeprom, not eprom, not .*rom, but a
ROM) it is nothing but hardware that have certain electrical conduits
cut into it. it cannot be changed anymore. not without trying to destroy
it.

(similar to: take a 9V battery, some lights, and switches. you now can
make fun binary circuits. is it software?)

firmware is just like that, but it can be ``flashed'' so it can be
re-wired `at wil'    certainly there is a logical component
(instructions) that are embedded.  this is why i did not say i would not
call it software.

it's a blurred line, and _that_ is why it is called ``firmware''  not
software. not hardware.  firmware.  they make fuzzy terms for a reason
:)

-john