Messages in this thread | | | Date | Sun, 17 Aug 2003 05:16:54 +0100 | From | Jamie Lokier <> | Subject | Re: Centrino support |
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insecure wrote: > This makes it difficult to open-source code that enforces limits on > the power levels, frequency channels and other parameters of the radio > transmitter. See > > http://ftp.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Orders/2001/fcc01264.pdf > > for the specific FCC regulation.
I have just read that FCC regulation.
It doesn't prevent open-sourcing the code. It does require that each software-defined radio must have some kind of authentication mechanism to ensure that unapproved software cannot be loaded on to the device.
It seems to me that distributing a binary, which is easily modified by users, (as proven by all the game patches and application cracks out there), does _not_ satisfy the FCC regulation.
The only way to satisfy the regulation is to have an authentication mechanism of some kind, so that the radio will not operate with unapproved software.
If Intel have not implemented an authentication mechanism, then they are not compliance with the FCC regulation as I read it because it won't be long before some enterprising user patches the firmware and makes the radio behave in an unapproved, possibly RF unsafe manner.
If Intel have implement such a mechanism, then regulation is no excuse for them to not release the source code.
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