Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 15:37:02 -0400 From: dennis <dennis@etinc.com> To: Luigi Rizzo <luigi@labinfo.iet.unipi.it> Cc: msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: if_de.c ???? Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970512153659.00b31ec0@etinc.com>
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At 05:42 PM 5/12/97 +0200, Luigi Rizzo wrote: >Dennis said: > >> Would be nice, wouldn't it? >> >> Certain things you're just not gonna get...so deal with it. Do you >> think that SMC is gonna build another card with DEC-like chip when >> anyone with a $500. layout program can clone the board and steal >> their market? Its getting so easy to clone hardware, particularly >> with single chip solutions, that you're going to see big vendors > >as it is to build them in the first place, so you cannot really >complain about cloning the board. As an example, the Matrox Meteor >is essentially the same board as described in the Philips data >sheets, so everybody could have built it without the need for >cloning the board. I assume it is the same for the 21x4x, Bt848 >and other single-chip PCI devices. > >The chip manufacturer has 3 options: > > 1. sell the chip in very high volumes because specs are public > and anyone is able to write a driver; > > 2. sell the specs and device to selected manufacturers, with > a probably smaller market but higher margins on each chip; > > 3. build the card itself so cloning is impossible because both > the chip and the specs are not available. > >I don't think #2 is a viable option, though, except perhaps for special >HW which would not have high volumes in any case. And in those cases >you would probably chose a well reputed manufacturer anyways. You may not *think* so, but remember if no major manufacture builds initially with the chip, then there is no market for the clones, or the chip. The chip manufacturers are going to get pressure from the big guys to not make the specs public...although no one really gives a hoot about unix....Windows is the real market. If SMC or HP says, "We'll buy 5 million ICs if you dont make the spec public"...its likely to happen. db
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