✧✦Catherine✦✧what does it mean for DisplayPort to be "open-source"
what is the source of DisplayPort
is it the standard that says "DISTRIBUTION TO NON-MEMBERS IS PROHIBITED" on every page? is this what we call "open-source" now?
is it the technology that is patented by at least 10 companies (the full list isn't known) including Apple? is this "open-source"?
is it the compliance test suite and Verilog code that is available from VESA under an OSI-approved licensaahahahahahahaha I cannot do this anymore
*wipes tears* is it the lack of content protection, ensuring our lives will continue DRM-free?
*checks spec* no it just uses HDCP, exactly like HDMI
is it the DisplayPort logo and name, which can be used free of charge and without restrictions by anyone implementing the standard?
*checks VESA marketing guidelines* no, that's not it either!
so it turns out that DisplayPort is "open-source" because VESA (a consortium of multinational corporations) does not, as of present day, have a history of impeding some of the other multinational corporations from releasing some of the related code under an open-source license
that's a pretty weak definition of "open-source", folks
also if you call your HDMI port a "○○MI" port or whatever, the HDMI Forum can't go after you any more VESA can, go wild, everyone does this
(by the way, I think VESA being protective of the DP trademark is just about the only reasonable part of this; HDMI Forum should be able to do this too; that they can abuse this power is an unfortunate, currently unavoidable, side effect of the desirable ability to actually know if a thing you bought is mostly compatible with this other thing you have or not)
as pointed out by @azonenberg, getting the DisplayPort v1.0/v1.1a spec (the latter being released in 2008) does not require an NDA with VESA. it's still patent-encumbered, you still can't use their trademarked logo if you implement it but don't submit for compliance, it still includes HDCP by reference, but at least you can get the PDF
(as you can probably tell I have all the PDFs anyway, it's not really the obstacle to anything)
Samantaz Fox@whitequark @azonenberg I wish these kind of specs were all easily accessible and didn't require to register a billion accounts among stupid orgs. At least, the USB-IF org publishes everything for free!
Andrew Zonenberg@SamantazFox @whitequark 802.3 is freely downloadable although you do have to make an account to get it.