Re: non-free firmware: driver in main or contrib?
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004, Raul Miller wrote:
> > The person who has the device doesn't neceessarily have the firmware, because
> > the firmware can be removed.
> The person doesn't have the device at that point -- only part of it.
The same reasoning applies for both examples if you refer to the combination of
hardware plus CD as a "device".
> > Of course, there are relatively few examples where you'd *want* to
> > remove the eeprom from the device, but similarly there are few examples
> > where you'd want to sell the device without accompanying it with a CD.
> Of course, those examples include this one: inadvertently losing track
> of the CD.
That's a difference, but it doesn't seem to be enough. It just means I need to
rephrase the question:
"So what's the difference between a device with firmware, and a device with
a CD plus a non-free license letting you copy the CD?"
In that case, losing the CD doesn't matter because the user can get another
copy. The user can't modify the software on the CD, but then he had no
permission to modify it when it's in hardware either.
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