Re: Bug#239952: kernel-source-2.6.4: qla2xxx contains non-free firmware
Eduard Bloch wrote:
> You miss the point again (deliberate?). I say that IFF NVidia ships their
> drivers with DSFG-compatible source for all precompiled object files
> that are parts of the code running in the HOST system kernel, YES. But
> that is not what we are talking about; this thread is about firmware
> blobs running inside of the target hardware, never touched during the
> software development. They are not MODIFIED to change the code running
> within the GPL space (kernel) so there is no need to distribute any
> pre-form of the binary blob.
If you want to modify it -- for instance, to fix bugs in it -- you want the
"preferred form for modification". If there exists, anywhere, another form
used to generate the binary blob, that's almost certainly preferred over
the binary blob!
If the binary blob was really the source file, then it's fine. For these
so-called "GPLed" binaries, we should ask the copyright holders if they
were *really* written as binary blobs. If they say "yes", let's believe
them. If they say "no", then the binaries are undistributable.
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