Re: [gNewSense-users] Intel's excuse for non-free WiFi binary firmware

[Sam Geeraerts]

Mathieu Stumpf wrote:
> > I attended an OpenMoko talk at FOSDEM 2007 and they said that their GSM
> > stack is not open because FCC don't allow it. The reason is that it's either
> > illegal or unsafe (I forgot which one) to broadcast radio waves with more
> > power. People are protected from doing this (either accidentally or on
> > purpose) by not being able to change the strength of the signal.
>
> Let me laugh please. It only take a Ricoré[1] box and a little hack to
> power up a wifi signal.
>
> [1] Ricoré is a famous coffee-like drink that you can find in every
> shop, at least in france.
>
> > I don't know how valid that argument is. I'd think that there wouldn't be a
> > problem if you make the hardware so that it can't go beyond a certain
> > strength. It seems to me that that's also the only way to make sure it stays
> > within the limits.
>
> This is not, to my mind, a valid argument, and as said, you can easily
> work around a wifi hardware limitation.
>
> Next they will tell you they can't release their electronic coffee
> maker firmware because you could hack it so it makes coffee to hot.

I've heard other people say that the FCC's prohibition is ridiculous. 
They (and Karl and you) make some points that sound sensible. I can't 
really tell if they are because I'm ignorant in these matters. The 
question I have been asking myself for some time is: why haven't I heard 
of anyone fighting this then?

I mean, there's nosoftwarepatents.com, defectivebydesign.org, 
badvista.org, openparliament.eu and what not. Those are all valuable 
campaigns that fight against threats to libre software or for the 
adoption of libre software. WiFi and 3D graphics are probably the 
biggest hardware issues that are in the way of fully libre software 
adoption. The latter isn't hindered by legislation and nouveau, Open 
Graphics Project and Project VGA are trying to fix this. A nouveau-like 
project for WiFi is not an option because of FCC restrictions. I have 
not yet seen an open hardware project for WiFi. Maybe it's difficult to 
do because of FCC certification requirements, maybe nobody is interested 
or knowledgable enough to do it. But I would think it hurts the libre 
software community enough for somebody who knows about FCC regulations 
to set up a website with information, a petition or a genuine campaign.

I'm not saying you guys are wrong, I'm just making an observation.