U-Boot is "Free" and minimal.
Genesi's OF implementation used to be derived from CodeGen's product if I remember right, and even if they offer it for zero cost I doubt their license carries no strings -- of course they'd love to see it adopted.
The elegant way to do this would be to bang out implementation(s) U-Boot can load and hand it to the users (assuming any more U-Boot hardware is coming) or (gasp) sell it for a pittance. Then it could 'win' -- or who cares if it 'wins' if it turns a profit? -- on its merits without the goad of pitching an "Open" standard whose sole available implementation (for what, disappointingly, is becoming the PowerPC ghetto) is presumed proprietary.
Does anyone still think it's a good idea to store essential driver code and configuration data on media that isn't easily updated, exchanged, or replaced? When you can probably go out and buy a gig of Flash with standard form factor and interface at the corner store for less than a pack of smokes?
