12-31-2015, 07:24 PM
(12-30-2015, 04:30 AM)Ketsa Wrote: Also concerned, I backed the product thinking i would be able to run GNU/Linux on it... wonder if I can still withdraw my order.
Why chose a SoC that violates the GPL ?
You'll be able to run linux on it sooner or later. Whether that's ready before you get your board or after is a different question. Some work has to be done for every new SoC, that's not news. Getting a minimal boot isn't the problem. The hard work is getting mainline uboot + mainline linux support, rather than using Allwinner-provided patched versions. Keep in mind that the linux-sunxi community has gotten there with a number of Allwinner SoCs.
An SoC can not violate the GPL, it is an inanimate object. Allwinner - the company behind it - did in the past and, arguably, is in a gray area on one or two bits currently.
The fact is that every single SoC of this kind comes with driver blobs and other types of nonsense. This includes the SoCs used for Raspberry Pi. We're not the target market - portable devices which sell in millions are, so the SoC design shops do what they think they need to do to preserve advantage in the market. It sucks, but c'est la vie.
We're left choosing the parts that have the most power at the right price where we have a decent shot at working around the issues. tllim says Allwinner are receptive to concerns about their relations with the open source community, we'll see if anything comes of it.
-p