On Sat, 2014-11-29 at 17:10 +0100, Simon Richter wrote: > Hi, > > On 29.11.2014 08:37, Tollef Fog Heen wrote: > > > I'm not Simon, but one valid argument I've heard is that embedded stuff > > has a tendency to get stuck on old vendor kernels, something that > > doesn't work so well when systemd uses newer kernel interfaces. > > Correct, and I don't see the situation improving much outside the hacker > community. > > Embedded board support packages are supposed to be supported for many > years, For some value of 'support'. > so vendors generally branch off the then-current stable kernel > when the device goes on sale, and do not follow updates afterwards, > because the alternative would be supporting each customer with the > kernel version that was current when they bought the device, because > integrators are not interested in updating their kernels either. The alternative is working upstream, and on the LTSI, so that BSPs are only necessary for early samples. > There are a few devices that have proper support in mainline kernels, > such as the Raspberry Pi, The Raspberry Pi is not supported in mainline kernels, at least not in a useful way. > but these have a completely different target > audience; for most of the devices out there running Linux there is no > real incentive for the vendor to ship updated kernels, nor a critical > mass in the community to keep up to date. It is up to the customers to demand this. (And if end users find they are exposed to known security issues because product and SoC manufacturers don't feel any moral obligation to update them, a few lawsuits might get their attention.) Ben. -- Ben Hutchings Q. Which is the greater problem in the world today, ignorance or apathy? A. I don't know and I couldn't care less.
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