[sane-devel] where to put firmware files?

[Major A]

> Well, Linux is more widely known these days, so while SANE is not just
> for Linux, you could use the Linux angle. Secondly at the end of the
> day it is in their interest. At the end of the day these scanners
> will be used under SANE and all they would be doing is making it easier
> for their customers to setup their scanners.

The experience I had with EPSON related to ICC files for their
printers is that they want to supply ICC files only for products that
are widely used -- sort of a chicken-and-egg problem, because the
program in question can't be used without proper ICC files. It didn't
even help to point out that they violate their conditions of being an
ICC member by putting "ICC" on the box of the printer but not
supplying universal ICC profiles. Not that EPSON is the only one like
that... the only proper printer ICC profile I have ever seen was for a
Tektronics colour printer.

In any case, it's worth trying. I think it's important to mention both
Linux and commercial UNIX variants as well as non-x86 platforms. They
would certainly be happy if non-Windows pools could use their
scanners. The big mistake we must NEVER make is to mention MacOS --
they have their own drivers for that, I suppose, and the last thing
they want is somebody wanting support for a piece of software that
they haven't written. Not that it would happen, but they are afraid of
that.

> Because it is being glossed over at the moment. Strictly speaking you
> are not allowed to modify a Computer Modern font and leave it with 
> the same file name. This is done for a *very* good reason. However it
> means that it is not strictly compliant with the Debian packaging
> guidelines. Similar things go for the TeX and LaTeX source for the
> same reasons.

I don't know the details of the Debian guidelines, but they seem to
tolerate licences like these unless they have to provide modified code
for some reason ("inofficial" security updates, for instance -- that's
why majordomo was kicked!).

Maybe the guidelines are too strict, but practise seems to be good.

  Andras

===========================================================================
Major Andras
    e-mail: andras@users.sourceforge.net
    www:    http://andras.webhop.org/
===========================================================================