
Ask HN: Why do some hardware only have proprietary drivers? - filleokus
Inspired by nerdponx: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=14050297<p>During all my years running linux I have only encountered binary, proprietary, driver blobs for some certain type of hardware. Most commonly graphics cards and wifi-adapters.<p>Why are just those drivers closed source, and not all? Is it that other stuff, like USB-controllers, are standardised in grater extent and therefore opensource reverse engineering efforts can be focused and deliver open drivers? Or do the manufacturers actually provide open drivers? If they actually do provide them, why do they? Or perhaps rather, why does not AMD&#x2F;Nvidia do it?<p>In the case of binary blobs in mobile devices, I have read stuff about security aspects of keeping the baseband drivers closed source. Something about protecting the cellular network. Is there anything behind this?
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ofbriggs
There have been efforts at least from AMD:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-
source_graphics_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-
source_graphics_device_driver#ATI.2FAMD)

For recent cards, it makes more sense for these companies to tend on the side
of not giving out competitive information, hence their NDA processes for
developers.

