[Arm-netbook] Ask him for Android DDK (Was: I Have An Possible Chance To Meet An ARM Senior Manager)

[luke.leighton]

On Sun, Oct 7, 2012 at 7:32 PM, Christophe Devine
<christophe.devine1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Luke,
>
>> Android is completely out-of-control, with multiple SoC designers
>> whose first language isn't English taking GPL Linux kernel source code
>> and creating binary-only OSes *without* giving even the ODMs and
>> certainly not giving the Factories access to the source code.
>
>
> The situation regarding the Linux kernel is not so bad. Both ZTE and Huawei
> are entering the Android smartphone market, and they have already released
> the GPL kernel source code for a couple models.

 great!

> See for instance
> http://supporthk.zte.com.cn/support/news/NewsDetail.aspx?newsId=1002402 and

 Tegra 2.

> http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/downloadCenter.do?method=toDownloadFile&flay=software&softid=NDU5NTk=

Huawei G300 phone:
   Chipset 	Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon
   CPU 	1 GHz Cortex-A5
   GPU 	Adreno 200

interesting....

> The problem really lies in the user-space libraries. I'm unsure EOMA-68 will
> help a lot unless you find vendors willing to provide documentation to
> create Free & open-source drivers. 3D, GPS, modem, etc. all require blobs
> regardless of the vendor and are black boxes.

 chris,

 that situation - binary firmware and proprietary userspace libraries
- is a completely different separate issue that doesn't have anything
to do with how the I/O is connected together (via a modular standard
or not).

 however: what EOMA-68 allows is for free software advocates to choose
a CPU Card which *doesn't* have any proprietary libraries or firmware,
even though it may cost them more or have less features (*1).

 right now, free software advocates are placed in the absolute worst
shittest situation, due to "vertical market" product stratification.
want an ARM laptop, tablet, phone or e-book reader that's FSF
Hardware-Endorseable?  tough s**t: there aren't any.  want to get one
made up?  find me $250,000 and i'll get one made, casework and
everything (*2).

 if however there existed an EOMA-68 laptop chassis that was, apart
from the CPU Card, FSF-Endorseable, then all that's needed is for a
low-cost CPU Card to be made (a much lower-cost proposition than
making an entire laptop).

l.

 (*1) i'm working on getting ICubeCorp into the picture.  their CPU
would, in 28nm, absolutely smoke every other CPU-GPU SoC on the
market.  and it'd be FSF Hardware-Endorseable, too.
 (*2) pretty much the entire yearly budget of donations to the FSF, in
other words.