ThinkPenguin's heavily modified version of u-boot
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Any ThinkPenguin TPE-NWIFIROUTER2 buyer wants to share the source code of ThinkPenguin's heavily modified[1] u-boot, a free software bootloader for wireless routers? Copyleft.org reports it can be found on the CD which comes with the router[2].
[1] https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/free-software-wireless-n-broadband-router-gnu-linux-tpe-nwifirouter2
[2] http://copyleft.org/guide/comprehensive-gpl-guidech22.html
I'm surprised this isn't online. Chris from ThinkPenguin could probably help with that.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I just asked Chris.
"Hello Chris, Could you please share the source code of the modified version of u-boot your company installs on the FSF RYF-certified wireless router TPE-NWIFIROUTER2? [link to this forum post] Thanks, Tibi"
Meanwhile, if any TPE-NWIFIROUTER2 buyer visiting this forum post wants to help, please share the source code. Thanks in advance!
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I'd suggest heading over to www.librecmc.org and getting the sources that way. The ISO is available for download from us as well at www.thinkpenguin.com.
hi Chris
I have this router
tipe:
TP-Link
Firmware Version:
3.14.4 Build 131129 Rel.39318n
Hardware Version:
WR841N v9 00000000
can I install libreCMC in it??
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Thanks for your response, Chris. I have already asked on the development mailing list of the LibreCMC project:
Subject: "Information on how to build LibreCMC's u-boot for a target"
https://librecmc.org/pipermail/librecmc-dev/2015-November/thread.html#65
Quoting Bob, the lead developer:
"We don't provide u-boot for any ar71xx targets. [...] In the future, we may include a modified version of u-boot for ar71xx targets, but that is quite a ways away."
Maybe I didn't ask the right questions?
Could you please provide a direct link to the ISO at www.thinkpenguin.com? I couldn't find a reference to the ISO on the product page:
I might be missing something.
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No answer from ThinkPenguin or LibreCMC in the past 24h. They might be busy.
https://librecmc.org/pipermail/librecmc-dev/2015-November/000070.html
I assume though there are TPE-NWIFIROUTER2 buyers on the Trisquel forum. Could you please share the source code on the CD image? It includes a "heavily modified" u-boot.
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ping thinkpenguin.com
It would be nice to get an actual response from Chris on this issue, a week later.
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Is Chris on IRC? And if he is, under which username?
Any ThinkPenguin TPE-NWIFIROUTER2 buyer wants to share the source code of ThinkPenguin's heavily modified[1] u-boot, a free software bootloader for wireless routers? Copyleft.org reports it can be found on the CD which comes with the router[2].
You got mine now.
Now that is has been shared it would be great if it would be published on the web :)
Maybe tct can arrange for that?
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Thank you, hack and hack!
Both my foundation (Fundația Ceata) and Software Freedom Conservancy, with which I have exchanged e-mails on the issue the past week, will soon publish the source code, which is covered by GNU GPL.
Though, I doubt we can publish all the files on ThinkPenguin's CD, because the guides on how to build and install u-boot and LibreCMC don't mention any license (and by default full copyright applies).
"Though, I doubt we can publish all the files on ThinkPenguin's CD, because the guides on how to build and install u-boot and LibreCMC don't mention any license (and by default full copyright applies)."
I can appreciate your overly cautious position, but having known Bob for years I very much doubt that is the intention. It seems more an oversight. Contact the LibreCMC people and I'm sure it'll be addressed appropriately.
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Also owning the Tehnoetic shop, a lawsuit on copyright infringement from a competitor is the last thing I need. You can ask "hack and hack" to send you the unlicensed files and you can publish them too on your own risk (which I imagine would be smaller, since you know Bob (and Chris)). Or Software Freedom Conservancy can work on that.
The files in the root of original ThinkPenguin's CD are:
backup-libreCMC-2015-01-01.tar.gz
bin/
librecmc-config
librecmc-config-pppoa
librecmc-u-boot.tar.bz2
librecmc-v1.3.tar.bz2
README
u-boot_reflash
No license file COPYING or LICENSE is to be found in the root of the CD hierarchy of files. IMO it's hardly a LibreCMC issue, but a ThinkPenguin one, since ThinkPenguin is distributing this CD.
I have published the source code on the CD at Ceata:
https://ceata.org/static/librecmc-tpenwifirouter2.tar
I have omitted the unlicensed files:
librecmc-config
librecmc-config-pppoa
README
u-boot_reflash
My first observations:
1. u-boot source code is unmodified upstream u-boot_mod by Piotr Dymacz (pepe2k) from Jul 15 2014, as reported by git log and git diff. However, on the product page, ThinkPenguin states the bootloader is a heavily modified u-boot. Why not just say it's u-boot_mod.
2. Bob ignored my request on the LibreCMC dev mailing list to publish at librecmc.org the LibreCMC default config. However, there is such a file librecmc-config in ThinkPenguin's CD:
https://librecmc.org/pipermail/librecmc-dev/2015-November/000059.html
3. Bob declined my request on the LibreCMC dev mailing list to publish at librecmc.org build instructions for u-boot. However, there is such a file u-boot_reflash in ThinkPenguin's CD:
https://librecmc.org/pipermail/librecmc-dev/2015-November/000066.html
4. Moreover, Bob implied u-boot_mod is not 100% free software. Though, it's being used and distributed umodified by ThinkPenguin along with their RYF-certified router.
https://librecmc.org/pipermail/librecmc-dev/2015-November/000070.html
jxself, these actions make me think twice before distributing ThinkPenguin's config and documentation files.
There are some problems in your analysis. One is the notion that the config files are copyrightable in the first place.
To provide an example, I distribute config files for assorted Linux-libre kernel versions at https://jxself.org/git/?p=kernel-configs.git
You will notice there is no copyright or licensing information. This is because such things are not copyrightable in the first place. For example: Someone that has never seen these could run make nconfig in the kernel source tree, go enable/disable the appropriate stuff, save that config, and obtain an identical file. This is because it's machine generated (being made by a human is one criteria to be eligible for copyright restrictions. This is why those monkey pictures were deemed ineligible for copyright restrictions.) make defconfig is another example of this.
Another is that there is only one way to say things like CONFIG_X86_64=y or "CONFIG_64BIT is not set". You could make it say CONFIG_INTEL64BITPLEASE=y but this will not work because the build system will not understand it. And so, even if someone made their own config by hand, use of the same config symbols is required in order to be compatible with the build system and have it work. You may find this to be a good read: http://softwarefreedom.org/resources/2007/originality-requirements.html. I'll quote a thing: "If a work represents one of only a few possible means of accomplishing a task, it is not copyrightable."
Anyway, this is just one problematic part of your analysis. The thing I really wanted to mention was:
"Also owning the Tehnoetic shop, a lawsuit on copyright infringement from a competitor is the last thing I need."
I'd love to see *that* case! The thing is, they'd never bring it.
I think being litigious over copyrights of something like that in this context (free software afficionados) would thoroghly alienate their userbase. That's almost as bad as Susan G Komen suing other charities (which I believe should be an immediate revocation of your tax-free charity status and reclassfication as a for-profit corporation).
As an owner of the said router, even with this evidence, I have a hard time seeing any malicious intent.
At worst, since they intended to modify it, maybe they planned it but forgot to update that one line on the their site.
On the other hand it is certainly a good thing to state the truth, that is it is not a heavily modified u-boot.
Yet since the code is distributed, and libre, at most I see a minor mistake, or at worst unharmful misleading marketing.
it is certainly a good thing to state the truth, that is it is not a heavily modified u-boot.
I believe it is the truth though. It's just that they don't appear to have done the modification themselves. Here is a description plus sources for "u-boot_mod".
Thanks, truth based on incomplete data is definitely not truth.
I see several html files for examples, I wonder why those weren't picked up by the GIT diff, or whatever kind of comparison tct did.
https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/librecmc-free-software-wireless-n-broadband-router-gnu-linux
Better late than never. :)
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