Brian Thomas Sniffen wrote:
So would a web-based firmware loader, that never saved the firmware to
disk allow the drivers to be in main?
Of course not. It's fetching software, then using that software. ICQ
software merely mentions messages, but doesn't use them.
ICQ uses the messages as instructions telling it what glyphs to display
on your screen. That part of the message, though, might be free.
It does use significant features from non-packaged software --- message
routing, buddy list management, buddy tracking, file transfer, etc.
We've elected to ignore ICQ's dependency on an ICQ server. We've elected
to ignore a driver's dependency on firmware burnt in ROM or stored in
flash --- even when it executes that code on the main CPU. We've elected
not to ignore firmware that resides in RAM instead.
I'm not sure how to make a consistent (and still useful) position out of
all that.
