[Ksummit-discuss] [Stable kernel] feature backporting collaboration

[Linus Walleij]

On Tue, Sep 6, 2016 at 6:46 PM, Olof Johansson <olof at lixom.net> wrote:

> Chrome OS was successful in this (if I might say so myself), getting
> several vendors who earlier had very thin upstream presence to
> significantly improve. I haven't seen all that many other projects
> being able to do it, but for those of you who are in positions to help
> steer SoC choices, do keep this in mind, work with your internal
> development teams to make them understand the importance of this, and
> make it a priority.

Actually what you did with SoC vendors from Chrome OS and stating
clearly that upstream presence is a factor in procurement was the
*only* thing I have ever seen that actually works to change the
behaviour of an entire company, apart from dedicated individuals on
the inside of the companies.

It got one major SoC vendor "hooked" on upstreaming to the point
that they have now come around to internalize that way of working,
at least partly.

So Chrome OS SoC procurement did good. You should be proud.

When it comes to Android, as I think I remarked in the past, the
problem since its inception is that the Android people making Nexus
devices (or whatever they will call it now) have traditionally thought of
themselves as inferior by being tied to someone actually doing
the hardware such as HTC, Samsung, LG etc, and they see it
as those companies are doing the actual procurement of
components and SoC, where BSP software is just another
"component".

The day the Android people say that for a Nexus(-ish) device it's
gonna be all upstream kernel and they will pick the SoC that
delivers that, then things will happen. But as it seems, they are
not doing the SoC pick, it is done by someone else. But I guess
they *do* pick which company will make the Nexus-ish device and
they could communicate this along to them.

They can also say "upstream strategy document or no playstore
for you" to all handset and tablet vendors any day, but I guess it
would be percieved as too aggressive. But I would personally have
used that hammer immediately.

Yours,
Linus Walleij