Re: The i2o Bus: A Conspiracy Against Free Software? (fwd)

Victor Yodaiken (yodaiken@chelm.cs.nmt.edu)
Fri, 18 Jul 1997 09:20:47 -0600


On Jul 18, 10:59am, Christopher Blizzard wrote:
Subject: Re: The i2o Bus: A Conspiracy Against Free Software? (fwd)
>The fact remains however that this new "standard" is a threat to the whole
>idea of free software. They want control over who has access to the
>hardware so they can keep thier grip on the market.

MS is actually moving on this on several fronts. There is a
thing called "ZAW" (Zero Administration Windows) that is designed
for closed "net computers" administered from a central site.
Users of such machines will not have access to any configuration
tools at all and will most certainly not be given access to any
technical information on drivers and such. There is also a MS supported
standard for a network connect device that combines PCI/USB and other
devices into a single port with an NDA protected spec.