Will Ubuntu Edge commit to using only free software?

[Kip Warner]

On Thu, 2013-07-25 at 17:49 -0400, Bob Jonkman wrote:
> On 13-07-25 04:47 PM, Stephen M. Webb wrote:
> > It's also likely that the radio firmware (the stuff that connect to
> > the telco) will be closed, since (a) it's probably in the silicon and
> > (2) most telcos won't allow user-serviceable parts to touch their 
> > networks.
> 
> It's worse than that. The firmware for GSM is patent encumbered, and
> more up-to-date technologies (UMTS, HSPA) are probably even more tightly
> controlled.  The actual phone radio firmware was one of the few things
> that was not open on the OpenMoko phone, which was otherwise completely
> open-hardware and open-software.
> 
> Fortunately, the Hush-A-Phone court case in the US prohibits telcos from
> refusing to connect user-serviceable devices to their network. That
> decision let to the burgeoning fax industry, answering machines, and
> probably the entire mobile phone industry.
> 
> --Bob.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gsm#Issues_with_patents_and_open_source
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush-A-Phone_v._United_States

Thanks Bob. That was quite informative.

-- 
Kip Warner -- Software Engineer
OpenPGP encrypted/signed mail preferred
http://www.thevertigo.com
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