Liliputing reports:
Chinese chip maker Allwinner has joined the Linux Foundation as part of an effort to improve its relationship with the open source community.
While you can run Ubuntu and other Linux-based software on many tablets and TV boxes with Allwinner chips, the company has a history of violating GPL by failing to make source code available.
The company's involvement with the Linux Foundation could help change that. Maybe.
A few years ago developers discovered they could get Ubuntu and other Linux-based software to run on devices like the Mele A1000 and Rikomagic MK802, which helped make these mini PCs popular with folks looking for more than a simple TV box.
There's even a Sunxi Linux community dedicated to developing open source software for products with Allwinner processors. But the community has called out Allwinner for numerous GPL violations.
(Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Tuesday June 16 2015, @05:31PM
Let's face it. The "trade secret" that most companies are trying to keep is: "our software sucks, because we hired the cheapest people we could get away with, and then didn't give them enough time to do the job properly." But it's not really a secret, since everyone else does it, too; once they realize that, then they'll realize that it's OK to open-source their drivers.