[coreboot] What are the best motherboards/systems out there foropen-source software?

[Tiago Marques]

Ok, I get your point, but the Iwlwifi is quite open IMHO. I don't
really trust Intel, as they may pull the documentation for future
products but take a look at this:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=984&num=1
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=850&num=1

They seem quite happy, well, at least the graphics division.

I think it would be profitable to talk to companies like
http://www.jwele.com/ which are emerging players in the market, to
whom coreboot might interest. I can try to do this, but it isn't
usually easy to get the right contacts.

Best regards,
                              Tiago Marques



On Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 3:58 PM, Cristi Magherusan
<cristi.magherusan at net.utcluj.ro> wrote:
> On Mon, 2008-06-23 at 13:56 +0100, Tiago Marques wrote:
>> I've seen my fair share of open-source adoption, or not. As such,
>> seeing the recent developments with open-source drivers in the Intel
>> camp, I can say they are pretty happy with the result, everyone is.
>
> >From my experience, Intel only cares about the big OEM companies.
> When they do give something to the community they usually give
> poorly-written sourcecode that only they can further maintain instead
> of proper documentation. The best example are the the ipw3945/iwlwifi
> drivers for their wireless adapters.
> http://kerneltrap.org/node/6650
> http://www.openbsd.org/papers/brhard2007
>
>> Has it already been attempted to contact chipset manufacturers to
>> release information without NDA, much like what AMD has already done
>> with graphics cards?
>
> Yes it was, and they always give evasive answers about Intelectual
> Property and external regulations that they must follow in order to
> assure the robustness or security of their products. Pure bull$%!#.
>
>> I say this because, if they realize that by allowing open-source
>> replacements for the BIOS would allow for new industry players to have
>> a lower cost of entry to the motherboard manufacturing. This, I see,
>> would drive chipset sales up, which is good for them IMHO. Emerging
>> markets like Chine, which will start doing it anyway, would benefit,
>> like the manufacturer would also.
>
> AMD and VIA are doing this, among others to reduce costs. Intel is just
> too big for this small starting players.
>
>> This is something I think Coreboot should be attempting to "lobby", so
>> NDAs could become a thing of the past.
>>
>> Anyone has any idea of how much are the costs for using Pheonix or AMI's BIOS?
>
> A few dollars per unit, i guess. I think their strong point is that they
> offer support for them and make them work on new board models.
>
> Cristi
>
> --
> Cristi Magherusan,
> Universitatea Tehnica din Cluj - Napoca
> Centrul de Comunicatii "Pusztai Kalman"
> Tel. 0264/401247  http://cc.utcluj.ro
>
>