| version 1.80, 2007/02/16 09:50:28 |
version 1.81, 2007/04/15 14:43:25 |
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| <a href="#audio_extra">OpenVOX (Extra audio CD track)</a><br> |
<a href="#41">4.1: Puffy Baba and the 40 Vendors<br> |
| <a href="#40">4.0: Humppa Negala</a><br> |
<a href="#40">4.0: Humppa Negala</a> and |
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<a href="#audio_extra">OpenVOX (extra track)</a><br> |
| <a href="#39">3.9: "Blob!"</a><br> |
<a href="#39">3.9: "Blob!"</a><br> |
| <a href="#38">3.8: "Hackers of the Lost RAID"</a><br> |
<a href="#38">3.8: "Hackers of the Lost RAID"</a><br> |
| <a href="#37">3.7: "The Wizard of OS"</a><br> |
<a href="#37">3.7: "The Wizard of OS"</a><br> |
|
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| Order an Audio CDROM from our European site</a><br> |
Order an Audio CDROM from our European site</a><br> |
| </td></tr></table> |
</td></tr></table> |
| <p> |
<p> |
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<hr> |
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<a name=41></a> |
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<h2><font color="#00b000"><a href="41.html"> |
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4.1: "Puffy Baba and the 40 Vendors"</a></font></h2> |
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<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 width="100%"> |
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<td valign="top" width="33%"> |
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<a href="orders.html">[Order OpenBSD 4.1 or other items]</a><br> |
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OpenBSD 4.1 CD2 track 2 is an<br> |
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uncompressed copy of this song.<br> |
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<br> |
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4:19 minutes |
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<a href="ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/songs/song41.mp3">(MP3 4.1MB)</a> |
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<a href="ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/songs/song41.ogg">(OGG 8.3MB)</a><br> |
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<br> |
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<a href="images/PuffyBaba.jpg"> |
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<img width=227 height=343 alt="PuffyBaba" src="images/PuffyBaba.jpg"></a> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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<em> |
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As developers of a free operating system, one of our prime responsibilities |
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is device support. No matter how nice an operating system is, it remains |
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useless and unusable without solid support for a wide percentage of the |
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hardware that is available on the market. It is therefore rather unsurprising |
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that more than half of our efforts focus on various aspects relating to |
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device support. |
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<p> |
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Most parts of the operating system (from low kernel, though to libraries, |
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all the way up to X, and then even to applications) use fairly obvious |
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interface layers, where the "communication protocols" or "argument passing" |
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mechanisms (ie. APIs) can be understood by any developer who takes the |
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time to read the free code. Device drivers pose an additional and significant |
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challenge though: because many vendors refuse to document the exact behavior |
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of their devices. The devices are black boxes. And often they are surprisingly |
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weird, or even buggy. |
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<p> |
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When vendor documentation does not exist, the development process can |
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become extremely hairy. Groups of developers have found themselves focused |
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for months at a time, figuring out the most simple steps, simply because |
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the hardware is a complete mystery. Access to documentation can ease |
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these difficulties rapidly. However, getting access to the chip documentation |
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from vendors is ... almost always a negotiation. If we had open access to |
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documentation, anyone would be able to see how simple these all these devices |
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actually are, and device driver development would flourish (and not just in |
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OpenBSD, either). |
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<p> |
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When we proceed into negotiations with vendors, asking for documentation, |
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our position is often weak. One would assume that the modern market is fair, |
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and that selling chips would be the primary focus of these vendors. But |
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unfortunately a number of behemoth software vendors have spent the last 10 or |
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20 years building |
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<a href="http://cvs.openbsd.org/papers/brhard2007/mgp00024.html"> |
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political hurdles against the smaller players</a>. |
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<p> |
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A particularily nasty player in this regard has been the Linux vendors and |
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some Linux developers, who have played along with a American corporate model |
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of requiring NDAs for chip documentation. This has effectively put Linux |
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into the club with Microsoft, but has left all the other operating system |
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communities -- and their developers -- with much less available clout for |
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requesting documentation. In a more fair world, the Linux vendors would |
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work with us, and the device driver support in all free operating systems |
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would be fantastic by now. |
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<p> |
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We only ask that |
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<a href="http://cvs.openbsd.org/papers/brhard2007/mgp00027.html"> |
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users help</a> us in changing the political landscape. |
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</em> |
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</td><td valign="top" width="3%"> |
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<br> |
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</td><td valign=top width="30%"> |
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<br> |
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Here's an old story ...<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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Puffy Baba and the 40 Vendors<br> |
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We all know the details<br> |
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Magic cave, magic words, some thieves,<br> |
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some serious loot,<br> |
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and lucky - Mister - Baba<br> |
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Who got a bad rap if you ask me<br> |
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The little guy who<br> |
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did the best with what he had<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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Here are Mr. Baba's lessons<br> |
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Load one ass, take a few trips and spend<br> |
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in moderation<br> |
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Three things the average man can't - get - right<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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If you know your brother is a greedy bastard<br> |
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never give him the password<br> |
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If he goes penguin on you,<br> |
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stop - being - his brother.<br> |
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When a cave is guarded by magic lawyers<br> |
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A sea of blood will be it's doormat<br> |
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So do the best with what you have<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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Beyond the lessons - you must know this<br> |
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that the Devil is as real as your address<br> |
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But unlike Vendors,<br> |
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he at least keeps the door open<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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Vendors of water that should be free<br> |
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Look upon their words and despair<br> |
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Their badvertising made a thief of my brother<br> |
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then made him better off dead<br> |
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Now he hasn't got shit to do his best with<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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Gratis. Free. Libre. Cuffo.<br> |
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The companies of thieves stole every good adjective<br> |
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and left us with open source (sores)<br> |
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sharing smaller and smaller bandages<br> |
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for each consecutive cut<br> |
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But with the salty water of labour<br> |
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parched desert becomes pregnant black soil<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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It's not whether you're well off<br> |
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it's where you dig the well<br> |
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The best the little guy can do is what<br> |
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the little guy does right<br> |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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</td><td valign=top width="33%"> |
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<img width=396 height=1904 src="images/41song.gif"><br> |
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</td></tr></table> |
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<p> |
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<em> |
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CD 2 track 2 is an audio track entitled "Puffy Baba and the 40 Vendors". |
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Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jonathan Lewis of Moxam Studios |
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(1-403-233-0350). Voice by Richard Sixto. Lyrics by Ty Semaka. |
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<br> |
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<br> |
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</em> |
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|
| <hr> |
<hr> |
| <a name=audio_extra></a> |
<a name=audio_extra></a> |
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