[FSF India] (no subject)

[Khuzaima A. Lakdawala]

Vivekananda Prabhu <vivekbp@yahoo.com> writes:

> The only practical solution seems to support WinDDK
> a.k.a Windows Device Driver API on top of GNU/Linux
> systems

I don't know about the technical feasibility of such a solution but
from a Free Software perspective this is definitely *not* a good
idea. This "solution" is worse than the problem. Whatever little
incentive there may be for development of free drivers will also be
lost.

> Yes, the support for Win XX device drivers is
> "Crutches" & not the final solution.(The final

It will have the complete opposite and undesired effect of serving as
"crutches" for the proprietary device driver vendors who will laugh
all the way to the bank.

> solution should be to have Free drivers for *all*
> available hardware)
> 
> But we should not forget that crutches *have* played
> an important role in Free Software history.
> RMS/FSF/GNU Project developed many of their GNU tools
> on top of non-free Unix OSes.Linux kernel itself was
> developed as a part by part replacement of non-free
> Minix kernel

These comparisons are not applicable. The above non-free softwares
were used for further development of free software. Facilitating the
use of proprietary drivers has no such benefit.

> I am *not* a fan of MS or Windows. But it looks odd to
> me that we have free software projects like WINE to
> port Windows API to run MS Office, Notepad & other
> Windows applications on top of GNU/Linux, but none to
> run Windows device drivers which appears more critical
> to me.

Again, the comparison is misplaced. Wine serves a legitimate free
software use -- the ability to run free software written for Windows
without installing non-free Windows operating system. If someone uses
Wine to run non-free MS Office he obviously has nothing to do with
free software and he might as well install Windows.

The only *correct* solution is to petition device manufactures to open
up their device specifications and/or publish free drivers for free
operating systems.

-- 
Khuzaima A. Lakdawala