Linux in the Hospital

Regulation. In industries where equipment is heavily regulated, regulators like manufacturers to be able to say that conforming equipment is going to STAY conforming in the field. So, manufacturers like to lock things down, so that the system can't be fiddled with.

Here's an interesting article:

and an interesting quote:

With TiVo in mind, the provision includes language that prevents hardware companies from controlling the final implementation of their devices. If you have a cell phone running Linux, for example, it requires that the user of that phone must be able to modify and run all the code on that specific phone. While this sounds like a good thing, the regulators that approve new designs for use in each country would be extremely wary of devices that can be modified at will.

In addition, GPLv3-based software will be completely off the table for medical devices. Government safety and efficacy testing is rigorous and very specific. A device must be tested in the exact configuration it will operate in, and regulators won't take, "Well, we hope it will be this one" as an answer. More importantly, the lawyers would have a field day with "open" devices

Fortunately, Linus and the other major kernel developers understand all this, and there is no way they are going to move away from GPLv2.