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All this work is tainted since the poster is ex-Apple[1]. There is no way Linux will take that code, since people from Apple also contribute to Linux and this c
by thrwy19940314 21d ago
All this work is tainted since the poster is ex-Apple[1]. There is no way Linux will take that code, since people from Apple also contribute to Linux and this creates a major conflict.
There's also ongoing issues around Codex for this sort of thing, given Apple is suing OpenAI over stolen trade secrets[2]. And nobody knows whether training data in other models is similarly tainted.
[1]: https://codyho.dev/documents/cody_ho_resume.pdf https://codyho.dev/documents/cody_ho_resume.pdf
[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/10/apple-sues-openai-trade-secrets https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/10/apple-sue...
- porphyra 21d agoVery sad. I really want to get Linux on newer Apple chips working flawlessly but I can understand the legal minefield about this particular work.
- cromka 21d agoNobody does. We're only about to start settling it in courts, likely the supreme ones.
- kccqzy 20d agoThat’s fine. Linux upstream won’t take his code but you can for your own purposes.
- SXX 20d agoThere is no reason Linux the Kernel upstream wont take his code. Asahi is not Linux upstream.
- josephg 20d agoThe only cost was a month of llm usage. If the legal questions matter to you, you or someone else should be able to spend some tokens to redo their work in a similar way. I doubt Apple will actually care much about this. But even if they do, the worst they’ll do is get the repo taken down. It may also be legal to do the following: 1. Have an llm read all the code these people have written and produce extensive documentation. 2. Have another llm consume that documentation and write another working driver. I am not a lawyer but I think this may fall under fair use, because reverse engineering is allowed for interoperability.
- nine_k 21d agoThere were and are many important pieces of Linux kernel that live out of tree; ZFS is a big example. The problem with this driver is not licensing or code quality; I assume it's under a threat of receiving C&D letter, or maybe also a legal suit for breaking some NDA.
- cromka 21d ago> important pieces of Linux kernel that live out of tree; ZFS is a big example. Including the proprietary GPU drivers. If this MacBook driver end up out of tree, so be it.
- IgorPartola 21d agoNow that this work is done and out in the open what in theory would prevent the next generation of LLMs from ingesting it and eventually a non-Apple employee creating yet another driver “from scratch” but with the knowledge of how the hardware works acquired from an LLM or with the help of one? Basically, aren’t we facing a situation where LLM-assisted knowledge laundering is becoming a thing?
- iAMkenough 21d agoYes, as well as accountability laundering. Technofascists are loving it. Nobody has been held accountable for AI selecting a grade school as a bombing target on the first day of America and Israel’s strikes on Iran. 100+ school girls killed, and no accountability.
- rjsw 21d agoSome arguments in the Apple vs OpenAI case look like they could lead to a decision on whether an LLM can wash away copyright or not.
- ADevWithAnIdea 21d agoLinking to another HN comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49719480 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49719480
- cromka 20d ago> All this work is tainted since the poster is ex-Apple[1]. So if I worked as a janitor at Apple, I couldn't contribute anymore?
- ryandrake 20d agoI’m glad I did my one Linux kernel driver contribution before I worked at Apple. What a surprise to know that I’ll never be able to contribute to it ever again.
- SXX 20d ago> There is no way Linux will take that code, since people from Apple also contribute to Linux and this creates a major conflict. I guess author can cleanup the code and try upstream it themself. Then let's see what Linus thinks of it.
- outworlder 20d agoResume says : "Machine Learning Engineer". Exactly how does that equate to knowing details of Apple's GPU implementation? Apple is a massive company.
- xp84 20d agoThe detractors around here would like to cede the absolute maximum possible territory that can be ceded to the copyright bully types, to avoid even the slightest possibility of trouble. "Did you even once enter Caffe Macs and eat a croissant? Stay 100 feet away from every FOSS project for life. Otherwise the beast might threaten us with a lawsuit."
- xp84 20d ago> and this creates a major conflict. Apparently. But Apple should be ashamed of themselves for that fact. What are they so afraid of? That Mac OS is so inferior to Linux that if they publish specs so that a driver can be made, that everyone will wipe Mac OS off their disks like it's Windows ME?? Once again, modern Apple is allergic to competing on their product's merits, clinging to force as though it's the only way anyone will choose them. Which is insane to me given how loyal their following is. I'm typing this shit on Mac OS right now. Apple comes off like the most insecure corporate culture in history.
- mathisfun123 20d ago> There's also ongoing issues around Codex for this sort of thing, given Apple is suing OpenAI over stolen trade secrets these two things have absolutely nothing to do with each other whatsoever
- userbinator 20d agoI don't give a flying fuck. Ignoring the idiocy of Imaginary Property is how China is winning. It's time we caught up and then leap ahead. Everything is a derivative work.
- otterley 20d agoSo, what do you do for a living?
- Dylan16807 20d agoIf you're going to make some kind of argument about the benefits of copyright for preserving software jobs, keep in mind this is a driver for hardware apple sells. Everyone would be better off if drivers were mandatory open source.
- deleted 20d ago[deleted]
- ndriscoll 20d agoI write software for a living and think we should abolish software copyright, and furthermore, source availability should be a basic consumer protection requirement. Basically the free software definition should be law.
- otterley 20d agoAnd you don’t think abolishing copyright would impact your career or your ability to feed your family?
- ndriscoll 20d agoOf course I think it would change things. You think I haven't considered that? But I also think society would be a better place if we worked to produce new software that people desire instead of gatekeeping what already exists, and if the law banned this one-sided gatekeeping. The goal of all people should be to build lasting wealth for the next generation to inherit, not to hoard what is naturally infinite. Plumbers don't extract subscription fees from your use of the toilet. Electricians don't get a fee for your use of a light fixture. They don't get a monopoly on fixing your things because you bought it through them. The whole idea of IP is absurd. It should be the opposite: anyone should always be free to go to someone else if they become unhappy with us, taking the work they bought from us with them. The law should bar any attempts to stop them/build roadblocks. Happily, I see LLMs have great potential to make everything effectively FOSS now anyway, so all we really need is regulations against anti-competitive behavior like requiring signed firmware.
- kanwisher 20d agoWhy do you hide behind throwaway accounts instead of just using your identity ? its harder to listen if you dont want to say who you are
- nicce 20d agoI don't know if that holds. Neither OpenAI or Apple "owns" the Linux project. As long as there is enough evidence that code is real contribution and not stolen property (if you can even prove it), there is no reason to deny it.