On Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:12:45 -0600, chrisv wrote:
>>I believe they DO have closed source apps that sit on top of Linux. The
>>problem Stallman and others have (and what they mean by "Tivoization")
>>is that you can't change the *Linux* on Tivo. Tivo uses digital
>>signatures to verify code, and won't run code that doesn't have the
>>correct signature.
>
> And I don't see anything wrong with that. If GPL3 chases Tivo away from
> Linux and into some other OS, what improvement to the world has been
> accomplished? It would seem to me to hurt, not help, the Linux/OSS
> cause.
That's not the concern, this is:
TiVo's software incorporates the Linux kernel and GNU software, both of
which are licensed under version 2 of the GNU General Public License
(GPLv2). GPLv2 requires distributors to make the corresponding source
code available to each person who receives the software. The goal of this
requirement is to allow users of GPL'd software to modify the software to
better suit their purposes.[2]
However, Stallman believes TiVo circumvented this goal by making their
products run programs only if the program's digital signature matches
those authorised by the manufacturer of the TiVo.[3] So while TiVo has
complied with the GPL v2 requirement to release the source code for
others to modify, any modified software will not run on TiVo's hardware.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoization
It's not "skypeization", it's tivoization. Also, see the "java trap".
-Thufir
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