According to a recent poll of developers of embedded Linux based systems, a third of all new systems will contain an M-Systems DiskOnChip Flash disk as the primary boot and storage device. However, proper operation of the DiskOnChip currently depends on a proprietary M-Systems binary driver. Since the DiskOnChip is the “drive” from which the Linux kernel must boot, there would appear to be a conflict with the GPL status of the kernel (since the DiskOnChip must be operational in order for the kernel to load). In this writeup, which was originally posted at the LinuxDevices.com Embedded Linux Forum, Stuart Lynne describes a process that has been successfully employed to make use of M-Systems' proprietary driver (which comes free with every DiskOnChip) without violating the terms of the Linux GPL (as defined by Linus Torvalds).

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