Re: [GnomeMeeting-list] Philips camera support discontinued?

[Conrad Beckert <conrad_b yahoo com>]

>>Well again to not get into this situation again so
should we all try to get the pwcx code GPL'd. So
anybody here knows how to contact at Philips please
give us this info now.<<

Well - they're just right across the street - I can
see the big Philips neon sign from my desk. ;-) But I
doubt we would reach anybody who is in charge of
licencing policies. It's worth a try - though we'd
probably be petition no. 45 that particular day. 

We shouldn't get megalomanic - most hardware vendor
still say - well we cater the Windows markers - that's
it. We can consider it stupid but that's the way it
is. Big companies tend to be led by predominantly
ignorant people. (Just an episode: I remember well my
then totaly arrogant and stupid boss talking in
ridiculous posh English on the future strategie of the
bank's trading departement: We want to concentrate on
the top 500 clients in the market. Well, my banker
collegues clapped hands - the bank is gone meanwhile)
So I don't expect anything though I don't know
anything about Philips.

Anyway - for Linux to get momentum it should have
widespread hardware acceptance. There will always be
vendors reluctant to release specs. 

We should try to reconcile the two parties and show
that Linux is better than competing systems because
the users play a big part in where it's going.

That is my point here. Probably getting out of topic.

Conrad





 --- Johnny Strom <jonny strom netikka fi> schrieb: 
> Conrad Beckert wrote:
> > The situation is completely nuts as Philips
> cameras
> > are the most widespread ones - at least here in
> > Germany. Our big electronics retailers -
> Mediamarkt
> > and Saturn  - have virtually only Philips cams and
> > definitely not supported Logitechs etc. on stock.
> > 
> > That excludes a lot of people from
> videoconferencing -
> > in my opinion the most widespread webcam
> application.
> > I have a Philips webcam too - recently upgraded so
> I
> > couldn't justify before myself buying an other
> model.
> > 
> > The problem seems philosophic - and the Kernel
> > maintainers seem (at least as I can conclude from
> what
> > I've read) behave in a fundamendalistic way. On
> the
> > other hand, offendedly redrawing from the scene
> and
> > locking oneself in the bathroom doesn't help
> either.
> > 
> > As it is now, everyone - except the Evel Guy From
> > Redmond (TM) - looses. The reputation of Linux as
> a
> > system that provides freedom for it's users,
> suffers.
> > 
> > Without getting into the discussion of free,
> "libre"
> > ...: I used to have the freedom to have my
> videophone
> > on Linux with my Philips cam - and now it is gone.
> > This kind of things I usually attribute to closed
> shop
> > products. (not even Windows would do that)
> > 
> > Probably - we here in the Gnomemeeting forum -
> should
> > find a solution. Someone (I would try - please
> help)
> > should convince both the Kernel crowds and the
> driver
> > developer (forgot his name, sorry) to get back to
> > table.
> > 
> > I could imagine a compromise:
> > - The kernel gets both driver (pwc and pwcx) and
> (non
> > standard) hooks back for the time beeing.
> > - For the next version (2.8 or whatever) a
> standard,
> > well documented way of including closed source
> drivers
> > into the kernel should be developed and
> communicated
> > well to the community. That interface should be
> > generic enough to accomodate anything (perhaps it
> > exists yet)
> > - The pwc driver should be converted to this new
> > interface standard
> > - Meanwhile pwc should be available as it is.
> > 
> > Any ideas?
> 
> Well again to not get into this situation again so
> should we all
> try to get the pwcx code GPL'd. So anybody here
> knows how to contact at
> Philips please give us this info now.
> 
> 
> > 
> > Conrad
> > 
> > 
> >>The kernel provides an interface where modules can
> >>hook ; a quite
> >>generic interface, that is used by all modules
> >>(libre or not). The libre
> >>pwc module creates its own hooking interface, just
> >>for the non-libre
> >>pwcx: there is code in a GPL module that is there
> to
> >>enable a non-libre
> >>module, and only that module.
> >> 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 	
> > 
> > 	
> > 		
> >
>
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