embedded devices and open source

[Ben Scott]

On 2/23/07, Python <python at venix.com> wrote:
> Is the manufacturer's perspective really that grim when trying to
> support an open source device?

  As usual, "it depends".

  A common concern is support -- support that the manufactuer gives to
people who buy their stuff.  If you can take it apart and modify it,
you can also screw it up.  There's a significant support cost
associated with that.  And saying "Only stock firmware is supported"
doesn't help as much as you'd think.  People with unsupported
configurations still call for support, and then get all pissed off at
you when you can't help, and then try to return the product, write bad
reviews on Amazon, tell all their friends you killed their pets, etc.
If they lock the cover shut, they bypass all this.  So it's often not
worth the trouble.

  There are legal liability concerns that follow on the same paths.

  There are a lot of people who want to keep everything they do locked
up tight.  Sometimes it's general paranoia.  Sometimes it's the
specific fear that someone, somewhere, might be getting something more
than they paid for.  While I would see that as a Good Thing, others
see it as a Bad Thing.  Henry Ford observed that some people try to
give all they can for a dollar; others try to give as little as they
can for a dollar.  The latter may do well in the short term, but
rarely in the long term.  Unfortunately, most people think in the
short term first (or only).

  Then there's trade secrets and patents and such that can prevent
companies from following the FOSS route.  Some businesses create their
own "intellectual property" and want to sell it to others.  Others
want (or need) to license the "intellectual property" of others to do
what they need.

  It's a complex world.

-- Ben