RE: gEDA-user: Free GNU/Linux hardware design tools

["EATON,JOHN (HP-Vancouver,ex1)" <john_eaton@hp.com>]

< However, it annoys me to no end when
< these same hardware makers refuse to release the specifications of their
< products so that alternative implementations cannot be created.
< Providing these specifications does not in any way obligate the hardware
< makers (or anyone else for that matter) to support alternative
< implementations based on them.


The entire open source movement was born because Richard Stallman got
annoyed
that Xerox would not release the source to one of their printer drivers. 

Companies spend Billions writing software and keep it locked up like it
was the family jewels. It's sad because there is a lot of obsolete stuff
out there that would be great to have in the public domain. But there is
no money in doing that so it will never happen. I wish there were a law that
said anyone who no longer wanted to support a piece of software that they
once
sold to the public was required to release the source into public domain.

At least now you can dive into a complete operating system and tool chain
without having to work for corporate America. 

I am glad to see that people are still using the 6502. It was amazing what
you
could do with 1 Mhz if you didn't have to support a bloated gui interface.
It
is still a great processor to use a teaching tool. It covers most the basics
but is simple enough that you can wrap your brain around it without becoming
overwhelmed.


John Eaton