Dotan Cohen wrote:
On 07/02/07, Rick Stevens <rstevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Not necessarily. Some of TI's wireless network stuff, for example, can
easily be convinced to broadcast at higher-than-normal power levels and
at completely bogus frequencies.
If they open up the driver, the source will be published and anyone with
a tiny bit of know-how can wreak havoc with local wireless networks.
Now, you could argue that TI should redesign the chipset (they have)
but what about all the chipsets that are already out there? Knowing how
lawyers are, TI would get hit with lawsuit after lawsuit. That being
the case, can you blame them for keeping the source closed? I don't.
That's a great arguement. Let me sum it up, to be certain that I
understood correctly:
"TI has sold very powerful hardware: stuff so powerful that it might
be illeagal or even dangerous. So instead of letting everybody use it,
their best interest is in allowing only crippled Windows computers to
use it. Allowing all systems to use the powerful hardware could open
them up to a potential lawsuit."
You have not understood the argument. What is legal in one country
may not be legal in another. What may be legal for one application
may not be legal for another. The same chipset may be used for, for
example, a mobile telephone with 1W or more output power, but
be limited to 10mW for wireless network communication.
Rather than develop umpty-ump different configurations of the chipset,
they create a chipset which can be configured to be legal in whatever
country, and for a variety of applications. This is good reuse.
You seem to be proposing that they develop special purpose ASICs
rather than general purpose chipsets. That is not the best use
of their talent.
Mike
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