2012-08-19, 03:15
An exception for what ?
(2012-08-19, 02:41)Shivansps Wrote: And the guys with the hardware are the ones on the losing end as always...
There is no way to make a exception for the android version?
(2012-08-19, 11:11)oliv3r Wrote: For the allwinner A10, hope should be put into this guy.
https://plus.google.com/1044115025184558...ciMRdFqnu2
If not with, then without allwinner, right? Maybe allwinner should talk to him.
As for the amlogic, i'm still searching for some hardware details, but I assume it also has it's 'own VPU'?
(2012-08-19, 11:11)oliv3r Wrote: As for the amlogic, i'm still searching for some hardware details, but I assume it also has it's 'own VPU'?
(2012-08-19, 17:40)davilla Wrote:(2012-08-19, 11:11)oliv3r Wrote: As for the amlogic, i'm still searching for some hardware details, but I assume it also has it's 'own VPU'?
https://github.com/Pivosgroup, uboot, kernel and userland source code are there. What details are you looking for ?
(2012-08-19, 23:54)davilla Wrote: @oliv3r, mali, ump and opengles userland is always closed source on any device. Need an NDA from ARM to get the source code for those but as long as they work as advertised, who really cares. Also, they are system libs and you are permitted to link to system libs under GPL.Oh wow, it saddens me to see your standpoint with regard to the binary blobs.
All Amlogic userland and kernel drivers are open, they are present in the pivos github. Firmware is closed, it's not likely that one would even have the tools to compile them anyway nor understand the internals of those devices. Again closed source for firmware is permitted and as long as it works, who really cares.
mali is not mainlined back into kernel sources because it is version dependent with userland. Generally forget mainlining arm device sources back to kernel, there are too many different implementations and each has their own tweaks and such. This is not desktop ubuntu here.
The kernel on pivos github IS the android kernel, I just fixit up and configure to work with a linux userland.
In general, you don't need to talk to the VPU, the kernel drivers do that and you want userland access anyway. Talking to the VPU is very complicated and unless you fully understand everything about it, you will epic fail. AML has codecs in userland there so you can roll your own player, or you can use libamlplayer like we did in XBMC.
(2012-08-20, 13:02)oliv3r Wrote: Having the binary blobs for the mali GPU closed, is just a huge step back and will cause problems in the end. A step back, as Both intel and AMD show, that it's quite possible to have Open Source Video drivers. You can argue that 'this isn't ubuntu Desktop', but why not? You can use one of these socs, and make very low powerd desktops from them?
I think the whole point of opensource, is not having a blob somewhere and 'as long as it works, who cares'. Why would we want to use things like Linux in the first place? Anyway, that's a discussion for elsewhere entirely.
I don't know on which bits the lima driver leans for the mali, but if you say that the opensource kernel bits and userland bits are that dependant on eachother, chances are the Lima driver has its own KMS bit. Luckly lima is slowly progressing further and further, because some people actually do care
(2012-08-20, 13:02)oliv3r Wrote: Back to Amlogic, if all amlogic userland and kernel drivers are open (except the mali driver of course) then a fully FOSS device can be built, correct? Or is the VPU userland also binary only? With VPU support, I didn't really mean kernel/userland mode, but rather binary only mode, again, firmware is okay to be closed blob.
(2012-08-20, 15:56)davilla Wrote: We pushed it out into the open and not one open source person besides us EVER looked at improving the code. No one. zero. zip, nada. If I had not put it into XBMC, I doubt than any other OpenSOurce media app would have picked it up. Open Source is great but the reality is that the number of people that can actually look at kernel/device code and understand much less improve it is quite small. Now if this is how something 'simple' like CrystalHD was treated, anything more complex such as a video driver becomes even less likely to receive attention and resources that it needs to be practical.