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Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2005 15:39:20 +0600
From: Max Khon <fjoe@samodelkin.net>
To: Marcin Jessa <lists@yazzy.org>
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Cc: FreeBSD-Current <current@freebsd.org>
Subject: Re: Generic Kernel API
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Hi!

On Tue, Nov 08, 2005 at 11:28:55PM +0000, Marcin Jessa wrote:
 
> I just came across an article of Mr. Greg Kroah-Hartman in his blog
> http://www.kroah.com/log/2005/11/03/ 
> about generic kernel API which could make it possible for hardware
> vendors to supply us with their own drivers.
> To be honest I disagree with Greg and consider this a good idea.
> Especially if we had a system which could isolate each device driver
> running as a separate user-mode process so it would not bring down the
> entire OS in case the driver was buggy. 
> An API like that would both boost up FreeBSD's popularity and make it
> possible to use a way larger variety of hardware. 
> I mean, lets not fool ourselves, the majority of hardware vendors is
> not interested in revealing of their secrets publishing freely
> avaliable documentation of their products. 
> We could have a new choice to use (or not) binary drivers the 
> same way the popular commercial O.Ss do. 
> What do you guys think? What is the view of the
> FreeBSD community on this metter? 
> Could this be concerned as a good idea ?

You can extend ndisulator so that it is possible to use other kinds of
win32 drivers under FreeBSD.

/fjoe