Re: The power of the GPL

[telford]

Tim Smith <reply_in_group@mouse-potato.com> wrote:

> So what happens if a box maker makes it so the first stage boot loader in
> ROM only loads firmware that is signed by the maker's private key?  That
> would let them use GPL'ed software without opening up the possibility of
> custom firmware.

Not too many manufacturers have the capability to make their own custom
CPUs so there is always an option of replacing the ROM or replacing the
CPU with a generic model containing decent bootstrap code.

Probably, custom CPUs will become more popular as they get cheaper
and then we will find this trick being used. 

There is always the good old buffer-overrun that causes the standard
software to run additional code that loads custom software.

        - Tel