All the kernel interfaces that purport to identify the
manufacturer of the
computer or its parts really don't do
so, especially in a case like
this.
Each of these interfaces returns either:
- The
manufacturer whom's identifier namespace was used to
describe an interface,
e.g. the VID in a PCI bus ID. In the
Raspberry Pi, that would generally be the
designer or
modified mask maker of a chip or chip part.
- The
manufacturer named in on board firmware. This would
be the Raspberry Pi
foundation, except that there allegedly
isn't any such firmware in a Raspberry
Pi.
- The manufacturer whom's EUI-48 prefix is found in a
burned in MAC
address of an Ethernet-like adapter. This is
a feature present only on the
larger Pi board, and even then
it is unclear if the ultra-low Raspberry chip
count design
means that this value is either a) not stored on board, b)
embedded in the Ethernet chip by its maker using the
chipmakers prefix, c)
burned into the board using a
Raspberry Pi foundation prefix or d) burned into
the board
using the board assembly plant owners prefix.
It is
more likely that the only way to identify the board
maker is to look at a
sticker or printed text and compare
some part of an obscure manufacturing code
to a list of who
made which boards.
However even if it was easy to tell
Sony blemished boards
from others once you hold them in your hand, it would
still
be near impossible to:
- Know this prior to purchasing the
thing and accepting
any shrink-wrap legal traps preventing
return.
- Know the extend to which Sony, through its cooperation
with
the foundation, has some obscure legal interest in
code, tools or other items
used with later non-Sony
boards.
Given that this product is
entirely targeted at the
audience most prominently wronged by Sony's past
actions;
And also given the binary blob issue for the display
hardware, I would
say that Raspberry Pi has just committed
suicide.
Time to look for
another cheap Linux board with a price
and performance between a Soekris 4xxx
or ALIX board, a
Netgear router and an Arduino.
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