Josh Paetzel said: > How about cisco? Well, they don't distribute their software either. That's not at all obvious. I can see your point, but I disagree. From where I sit, a copy of their software is in every device they ship. It's not source, but that doesn't turn the software into something else. > How about the software that runs (choose your embedded device here) > your microwave. Can you get the source code for that, even though it's > based on linux? Of course not. You had better well be able to, if it indeed is based on Linux. That's the only license anyone can get to use Linux. > The manufacturer of the > microwave isn't distributing their software, they are simply selling a > device that runs their software. Again, I, and a lot of other people who know a lot more about this than both of us, disagree with you. > I suspect that a lot of the time when companies roll on this they are > simply trying to avoid bad publicity and getting tied up in court even > if they are bound to win in the end. I suspect you haven't read the press coverage on this. > Besides, who really cares at the > end of the day if you have the source code to an application that only > runs on custom ASICs in a cisco router? I do. Anyone who has put significant effort into GPLed software that gets used does. Cisco's competitors do. > I'd guess cisco doesn't take > the time to publish their changes because it's expensive to do so, not > out of some desire to keep their proprietary changes to themselves. It can be quite an expense. And if they put significant development into the software, they also have a large incentive to keep their proprietary information private. Software patents can be vague about how a company actually implements a technique. My guess (since we're guessing and I also don't really know how it happens) is that an engineer gets Linux brought in and brings up the requirements of using it; those responsibilities are detailed to his manager; it goes up the chain of command and someone (perhaps in the legal department) decides either to just not do it, or it's too expensive, or it's a potential legal liability. Chris