916

Here's all the source code (lemmy.sdf.org)

submitted 1 year ago by ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org to c/maliciouscompliance@lemmy.world

88 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In 2000, I wrote a Linux device driver that "decrypted" the output of a certain device, and my company, which hosted open-source projects, agreed to host it.

The "encryption" was only a XOR, but that was enough for the maker of said device to sue my company under 17 U.S.C. § 1201 for hundreds of millions in damages.

The story got a lot of press back then because it highlighted how stupid the then-new DMCA was, and also because there was a David open-source enthusiasts vs. Goliath heartless corporation flavor to it.

Our lawyer decided to pick up the fight to generate free publicity for our fledgling company. For discovery, the maker of the device requested "a copy of any and all potentially infringing source code". They weren't specific and they didn't specify the medium.

So we printed the entire Linux kernel source code including my driver in 5-pt font and sent them the boxes of printouts. Legally they had been served, so there was nothing they could do about it.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] kbotc@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

iOS doesn’t have any Linux.

FreeBSD is not Linux. Linux is a kernel and Apple uses Mach, a different kernel. They do both share that they’re POSIX, but OS X is actual, factual, UNIX, and Linux has never paid the money to qualify.

[-] Butters@lemmywinks.com 1 points 1 year ago

How different is the FreeBSD kernel from the Linux kernel?

Like in terms of interfaces, if I were to port a device driver, am I just changing some header files and some constants/enums/ifdefs?

Or there’s like entirely different function signatures / APIs?

[-] kbotc@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I would look at the source of LinuxKPI to get an idea of how different they are.

[-] Butters@lemmywinks.com 1 points 1 year ago

Well of course I could go look at the source code. We had to write a hello world Linux module in college. Was just being lazy and thought some expert might give a quick synopsis.

Though based on your reply, I’m guessing they are more different than I imagined.

[-] crbn@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

My bad I'm conflating bash and Unix. From my end both apple and Linux use bash so they have the same underlying base...but I realize that's not accurate, and even unix and bash are not synonomous.

this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023

916 points (98.2% liked)

Malicious Compliance

19503 readers

3 users here now

People conforming to the letter, but not the spirit, of a request. For now, this includes text posts, images, videos and links. Please ensure that the “malicious compliance” aspect is apparent - if you’re making a text post, be sure to explain this part; if it’s an image/video/link, use the “Body” field to elaborate.

======

We ENCOURAGE posts about events that happened to you, or someone you know.
We ACCEPT (for now) reposts of good malicious compliance stories (from other platforms) which did not happen to you or someone you knew. Please use a [REPOST] tag in such situations.
We DO NOT ALLOW fiction, or posts that break site-wide rules.

======

Also check out the following communities:

!fakehistoryporn@lemmy.world !unethicallifeprotips@lemmy.world

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS