Re: Gobi firmware (was: Not detecting broadband card)

[Stuart D Gathman <stuart gathman org>]

On 09/13/2011 11:57 AM, richter ecos de wrote:
> is there a place to get the all gobi firmware "for linux". Until now we extracted it from the windows drivers and I am not sure if we have pick up the right one. Would be cool if there is some download possibility.
There cannot be any *official* download source for firmware unless the 
license allows redistribution.  However, there are repos for various 
Linux distros based in countries with different or loosely enforced 
copyright laws.  (Not sure if a specific mention is cool here.)

I understand why these companies don't want their firmware reverse 
engineered.  However, verbatim copies allowing more people to buy and 
use their hardware seems like a no brainer - what gives?

One theory - it is important for the firmware to enforce laws governing 
maximum transmit power and frequencies used.  If this enforcement were 
too loose without the help of the host system driver, the company might 
feel uncomfortably liable for "bare" firmware not using a host driver 
they control.