From the developer's discussions about the matter, it was understood
There were two modules: the open pwc module that interacted with the camera and the closed pwcx module that provided the compression routines required for the large format features. The usb-snd module maintained by someone else was used for the microphone. Apparently mention that the binary module was for the compression routines was missed. The binary, closed-source module was not needed to make the camera work. And as mentioned, the NDA was set to expire. that he would then be free to make the pwcx module open-sourced with Phillips blessing. Instead, the compression routines wound up being reverse-engineered and integrated into a single pwc module. Had the kernel usb maintainer not singled his modules out for apparently "special treatment" and the maintainer quit out of sheer frustration, he would have eventually had both modules open-sourced and, once all the kernel people stopped changing the rules every few minutes, he could have met their requirements and would likely still be hard at work maintaining the modules. Microsoft drives hardware development to their own advantage, to ensure that no one else can compete on "their" hardware. Hardware makers are often strong-armed by Microsoft into submission in order to find a market for their products. It's ridiculous to condemn the end user. If you must blame anyone, blame microsoft's anti-competitive and monopolistic business model. Look up "+nemosoft +pwc +phillips", sans quotes, on Yahoo for more about the pwc and pwcx modules. But note that the web page @ smcc.demon.nl for the original modules has gone 404. Or try Google if you don't mind wading through irrelevant results. jd -- If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think they'll hate you -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org