Initial Sound Open Firmware Support For AMD Hardware Comes With Linux 5.17

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Initial Sound Open Firmware Support For AMD Hardware Comes With Linux 5.17

The sound subsystem updates have been merged into the Linux 5.17 kernel with a few notable hardware driver additions this cycle...

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pa...nux-5.17-Sound

[Awesomeness]

Slightly related note: BSD 3-clause is already compatible with GPL-2.0, so dual-licensing that was kinda useless.

[uid313]

So this means the firmware relating to audio is open source?
I wish they would make the same for network, storage and graphics too.

[kylew77]

Slightly related note: BSD 3-clause is already compatible with GPL-2.0, so dual-licensing that was kinda useless.

Not at all! This lets FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and DragonflyBSD use it in their kernels after the appropriate modifications. If it was gpl only they wouldn't be able to use it! It was a problem with the open sourcing of ExFAT code and why the *BSDs don't have ExFAT support yet. The only reason the graphics stack is so good in any of the *BSDs is because AMD and Intel dual license the code.

[Gonk]

I think they meant the other way around, that the GPL-2.0 licensing is redundant. BSD-3-Clause is more permissive (more free, if you will) than GPL-2.0.

[pigpen]

What is "Sound Open Firmware" ? Is it because a lot of codec makers use Xtensa CPUs for DSP ?

[Brane215]

SOF seems to be just a lipstick on a pig - open source front end for closed FW binary blobs.

[Adarion]

Yes, could somebody step up and clarify this? And unmess all the many terms so we can see more clearly on the very matter?