On Monday 02 Jun 2008, PJ wrote: > Raj Mathur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > Some people (including me) are neutral to code that doesn't run on > > their primary processor. For instance, I'd complain if you gave me > > a non-free driver for my WiFi card, but I wouldn't if you gave me a > > free driver that downloads a binary blob to the card itself. The > > blob isn't running on my CPU, so I'm less antagonistic to it being > > non-free. > > Aside from the freedom issue: > > Doesn't the blob have the privilege to do horrid things to > a running kernel (crash, compromise, expose stuff?) > > I don't know if the above is true - I don't know kernel internals. > But unverifiable code with kernel privileges is not a reassuring > thought.
That's the whole point, isn't it? The blob is not running as part of your kernel. It has been offloaded to the card in question, and it is the card's CPU that is running that code. Your kernel does nothing with the code except to push it onto the card once at initialisation time. Specifically, the kernel never executes it; heck, most of that code probably won't even run on x86! Note (for the benefit of everyone following this thread): this is completely different from binary drivers with a FOSS wrapper. A prime example of the latter is the iNvidious graphics drivers -- they provide binary-only objects, with a source code wrapper that gets compiled with your kernel and provides an interface between your system and the binary object. That blob DOES run as part of your kernel, and it does have the potential to do horrid things to your system if it goes wrong (or if iNvidious decide tomorrow that you shouldn't be watching HDTV on Linux and report you silently to the MPAA/RIAA/whoever). Regards, -- Raju -- Raj Mathur [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://kandalaya.org/ GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F PsyTrance & Chill: http://schizoid.in/ || It is the mind that moves _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Next Event: http://freed.in - February 22-24, 2008 Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/ilugd@lists.linux-delhi.org/
