Hola MNO: Bravo! I fowarded it to RMS Thanks

On 6/29/06, Sales <[email protected]> wrote:

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MNO wrote:

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Dear EchoAudio Management,

I'm a Gina24 owner and I'm trying to get it working on a Gnu/Linux Live CD named MUSIX (A complete OS + all the software to make music that can run from CD instead of a Harddisk) http://www.musix.org.ar/

The Musix distro is based on GNU GPL and thus it impossible for them to include the Gina24 firmware on their CD.

Now, since i bought a Gina24 i find it a bit strange that i cant use a perfectly fine tool because of a simple issue like this. I now own the hardware, but may not use it because of a licence issue. Is there a way to make the firmware available, and open a bigger market for your products, by making it possible to distribute it?

If i can use my 'old' hardware until it is realy old, then i'm mostlikely to buy from the same manufacturer once i realy need to upgrade. Now i'm almost forced to buy from another company that DOES enable me to work with GNU GPL software.

And since this hardware might be already 'old' form your perspective, is it eventually possible to provide the GNU/Linux users the complete info to build their own firmware? I'm very disappointed that I'm not able to use the product that i now OWN. (i paid a lot of money for it)

I know it is possible to get the interface working under GNU/Linux when the drivers and firmware are installed and configured on a harddisk. (with a lot of hassle to configure due to firmware that can not be distributed) But in case of a live CD distro then the current licence forbids it to distribute the firmware.

And on top of all this, the firmware is only usable on the hardware, and thus those people need to be your customers after all.

Please give it some thought.

I'll be glad to help and find the right people to get this working.

The most direct approach would be contacting Richard Stallman [email protected].

It would be great to see all EchoAudio hardware listed there http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/soundcards/

Please let me know your standpoint, so that i know if i need upgrade to an alternative, or that i'm able to keep using the EchoAudio GINA24. And that i can upgrade to another EchoAudio product somewhere in the future.

Kind Regards,

Mano Stienen

Mano -

Sorry, we supply open source for our software but we have no intention of providing open source for our firmware. We are not a non-profit organization, and our firmware license agreements are a vital part of our business.

Thanks,

Echo Sales

Thanks for the quick reply, but...

Your hardware is a vital part of many businesses, please do not ignore the fact that MANY people are moving to GNU and they will get into the very same issues like me. All respect for doing business, nothing wrong with that, but you are missing out on a whole new market, and you will also lose cusomers. Once again, please help me to get the GINA24 working under GNU GPL, i paid a small fortune for that hardware and now you are stabbing me in the back.

I find it strange that it aint possible to communicate with some people to get to a solution that opens a market for your business, and enables YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS to use YOUR products, and keep YOUR brandname high profile.

A short reply like that, on an issue like this, does not make sence for a company that works on a global scale, in a market that depends on innovation.

On your website you write: "Echo products deliver cutting-edge solutions for home and studio musicians, the broadcast industry, the home entertainment market, and various OEM manufacturers. This family of products leverages the Company's extensive experience in both the PC market and DSP-based audio technology."

If this aint an oppertunity to provide a CUTTING EDGE solution then i don't know what your company is about.

Sorry for being Dutch and telling my toughts straigh from the heart. I'm just 99,9% sure that there must be a solution and from a business point of view that would be a better option then dumping EXISTING customers.

In this hectic information society, true communication seems to be forgotten sometimes... please take a moment to breath, think, and give it a try. You might gain some new customers or lose atleast one. Still..., i trust in the communication skills of EchoAudio.

Kind regards,

Mano Stienen.

-- Marcos Guglielmetti * Director del desarrollo de Musix GNU+Linux, 100% Software Libre * Descarga el CD de Musix: (www.musix.org.ar) (www.pc-musica.com.ar/musix) * Videos, programas y otras cosas en: ftp://musix.ourproject.org/pub/musix/ * Reporte de errores a: https://www.musix.org.ar/wiki/index.php?title=Problemas-Bugs *IRC: #musix channel on freenode