Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Amazon releases some Kindle code, but not the source



The Twitter world is today filled with rumors that Amazon has released the source code for the Kindle and Kindle DX. It isn't true. What was released in 2007 and was just recently released for the Kindle DX is the General Public License (GPL) libraries used to power the Kindle software, along with some of the pipes Amazon uses to access those libraries. The code Amazon has released has to do with the low level drivers for the device, while the higher level code that actually does the interesting stuff is a function of e technologies software and that remains proprietary.

Amazon also issues this statement of agreement prior to any download:
AMAZON AND ITS AFFILIATES PROVIDE THE SOURCE CODE TO YOU ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SOURCE CODE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, AMAZON AND ITS AFFILIATES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. AMAZON AND ITS AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE SOURCE CODE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

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