Against the backdrop of cries from the GNU/Linux community, Asus has taken steps to correct the availability of the source code for its Eee PC.

Cliff Biffle recently wrote in an article, ASUS eeePC: First impressions and GPL violations, that the package labelled as "source code" on Asus' site was actually not source code, but binary debian packages. Biffle correctly asserted that failure to provide the sources for GPL'ed code violates that license. ITWire carried a story about Biffle's posting, and as of today, Asus has announced that the sources are available.

Asus released a statement today on its website affirming its commitment to comply with the GNU GPL. It went on to say, "The open source code for EeePC is available here. To download the source code of all open source software packages that are included in the product, follow the steps listed below." Additionally, Asus announced the upcoming release of the EeePC SDK.

Arriving at the Asus download page, users can select the product, series, and model, and get a page containing various downloads related to the EeePC. A visitor to Biffle's blog posted a comment that points to an Asus FTP site containing the sources. Blue GNU has not yet verified whether any of the packages is actually source code, but it certainly appears that Asus has resolved what could have been a legal and public relations nightmare for the company.