Laptops

Asus Eee PC Limps Over GPL Definition

Asus customizations have not been delivered with the full source code

By Bogdan Botezatu, Hardware Editor

24th of November 2007, 10:39 GMT

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The Linux-powered Eee may give Asus more headaches than proprietary software.

Asus has done quite a job when launching their low-price Eee series, and has been in the spotlight ever since. Recently, one of their customers, programmer Cliff Biffle, decided to turn the weapons against

his own computer supplier.

While disassembling the Xandros Linux operating system, which is absolutely permitted under the Free & Open Source license, Biffle couldn't help noticing that asus_acpi kernel module was different from the standard Linux 2.6.21.4 version, but Asus "omitted" to distribute the modified code, as the GPL (General Public License) license imposes. Moreover, Asus did not even mention that there have occurred alterations to the original code and preserved the original module attribution (name, version, and author).

On the Asus website, Biffle found out that the full 1.8 GB source archive contained only a collection of Debian packages that were not related whatsoever to the Xandros Linux operating system. Needless to say, there was no modified source code or even the changelog.

GPL violation is not the only infringement of the consumer's rights. The warranty sticker "guarding" the access door to the single SODIMM slot on the Eee PC may severely interfere with the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, namely the section regarding the warranty.

As we can read on the Asus Warranty policy, "The warranty only covers failures or malfunctions occurred during the warranty period and in normal use conditions as will as for any material or workmanship defect. The warranty will not apply if: (a) the product has been tampered, repaired, or modified by non-authorized personnel; ... (c) the warranty seals have been broken or altered". The Federal Trade Commission however stipulates that preventing the user from extending the performance of a system by replacing serviceable components is an "unacceptable tie-in".

Asus has also been found guilty of GPL violations in 2004, when the company launched the L-500g wireless router, built around a Linux kernel that was supplied without the source code.

TAGS:

ASUS | Eee PC | GPL

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