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"Intel Corp. said Tuesday that it plans to release the "foundation" code of its Tiano next-generation BIOS code as part of an open-source license.

Tiano, also known as the Extensible Firmware Interface, provides a pre-boot software environment that is completely OS-agnostic, meaning that BIOS vendors like American Megatrends Inc. and Insyde Software Corp., who have licensed the technology, could develop their own quasi-applications.

For Intel, the problem is that BIOS giant Phoenix Technologies has already taken the technology and run with it, developing trusted BIOSes and pre-boot access to multimedia applications that have already bgun shipping. Intel will release its code as part of the Common Public License, an open-source license which allows the resale and modification of the code, even with proprietary modifications. The code will be released in conjunction with CollabNet, Intel said. Intel will release core Foundation code from its next-generation firmware technology as well as a firmware driver development kit.

"Because pre-boot firmware is a vital ingredient in all modern platforms, silicon vendors and system manufacturers require stability in the Foundation code to protect their investment in innovation," said Will Swope, vice president and general manager of the Software and Solutions Group at Intel, in a statement. "They expect unfettered access and collaborative control of changes so that interoperability can be maintained."

The Tiano/EFI technology has been endorsed by Microsoft, which will support it in its Longhorn operating system."

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Source: ExtremeTech