Re: Debian-installer, older hardware, boot loaders, miboot & amiboot & ..

[Thiemo Seufer <ica2_ts@csv.ica.uni-stuttgart.de>]

Sven Luther wrote:
[snip]
> > That would violate the TOS for alioth. Do not check non-free code into
> > the d-i subversion repository.
> 
> Well, the main point is, can you really speak about code when you are
> contemplating a 1k boot-sector, which is why i have CCed debian-legal,
> but got no response yet.

It surely is code.

> Also, i wonder how free a free replacement could be, if in order to work
> it would have to be exactly the same as the one in question here. Do we
> really need to consider source code for this one ? And in this case,
> what would the source code of a small binary sector look like ? 

A few lines of assembly, nearly indistinguishable from the
disassembly.

> I thought that copyright mat not apply to such cases, where there is
> only one way of making this kind of stuff work, and where the bit
> sequence is accordying short.

It still does apply, but you aren't barred from writing a very
similiar thing.

> Again, i have no real idea if this applies here, which is why i asked
> for advice on debian-legal, let's see what comes out of it.
> 
> Also, maybe we should remove d-i from main altogether, since it depends
> on non-free code in the bios of your motherboard ? 

Please don't port flamewars from -devel to -boot. Thanks.

> > You are free to set up your own fork of the debian-installer package,
> > call it "debian-installer-non-free", and upload it to non-free or contrib,
> > and arrange to build the non-free boot images from it. That would be one
> > way.
> 
> Yeah, a loosy way though. Or do you think that we should have a
> debian-installer-contrib for the other boot loader which can only be
> built on the native OS of the hardware ? 

Either that, or find a way to build it with software from main.


Thiemo