Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 18:57:14 -0600 From: Jeffrey McFadden <junkrigsailor@gmail.com> To: Daniel Feenberg <feenberg@nber.org> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, Da Rock <freebsd-questions@herveybayaustralia.com.au> Subject: Re: Realtek RTL8191SEvB Linux driver? Message-ID: <CAFpTYWPccGeFChROCZaqz7DH0jG6igHRzwMoq4nzo9aqDd1Abg@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <alpine.LFD.2.00.1201031922400.26468@nber4.nber.org> References: <CAFpTYWM3ppJsVo-qZC=OXWHW1U5zAt3y5m==6hFw3JQNH%2B5NAg@mail.gmail.com> <4F02A3CE.7020404@herveybayaustralia.com.au> <20120103071028.4964dd33@scorpio> <4F030E00.5020806@herveybayaustralia.com.au> <Pine.GSO.4.64.1201031101580.7621@age7.nber.org> <4F038F8F.3090701@herveybayaustralia.com.au> <alpine.LFD.2.00.1201031922400.26468@nber4.nber.org>
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On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 6:38 PM, Daniel Feenberg <feenberg@nber.org> wrote: > > > On Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Da Rock wrote: > > On 01/04/12 02:10, Daniel Feenberg wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> On Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Da Rock wrote: >>> >>> On 01/03/12 22:10, Jerry wrote: >>>> >>>>> On Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:44:30 +1000 >>>>> Da Rock articulated: >>>>> >>>>> On 01/03/12 11:15, Jeffrey McFadden wrote: >>>>>> >>>>> >>> >>> Don't ndis(4) ndiscvt and ndisgen(8) essentially accomplish what the OP >>> is requesting? See the handbook section 12.8.1.1: >>> >>> http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_**US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/** >>> config-network-setup.html<http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/config-network-setup.html>; >>> >>> or the man page for ndiscvt: >>> >>> http://www.gsp.com/cgi-bin/**man.cgi?section=8&topic=**ndiscvt<http://www.gsp.com/cgi-bin/man.cgi?section=8&topic=ndiscvt>; >>> >>> >>> While doing the conversion looks a bit beyond what we would expect of an >>> end-user, it does seem to offer a path for using hardware whose >>> manufacturer does not support FreeBSD. Is there anything beyond licensing >>> issues preventing such drivers from being included in the distribution, or >>> made downloadable in FreeBSD form? >>> >> > Oh yes, it is possible, just not probable :) >> > > At > > http://sourceforge.net/apps/**mediawiki/ndiswrapper/index.** > php?title=Category:USB<http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ndiswrapper/index.php?title=Category:USB>; > > almost 800 compatible devices are listed. Not everything, but I have found > that a willingness to spend a few dollars on a different card helps > immensely in enjoying FreeBSD and Linux. For me at least it is easier to > find a compatible card than to write a compatible driver. > um, well, yeah, but it's a laptop. :/ And I bought it before FreeBSD ever crossed my mind. <sigh> > > I would also observe that most people involved with computers, whether as > users or developers, have little symphathy for people with different needs > from the device. This is a great impediment to progress. It is a mistake to > assume that because you don't need something, another person's desire for > it is illegitimate. In this case, I fully agree that it is an injustice > that hardware vendors do not supply FreeBSD drivers, but that does not mean > that users requiring such drivers are immoral or of poor character, and > therefore to be ignored or insulted. There is little that FreeBSD coders > and users can do about that injustice directly, however it is within their > power to mitigate it with the NDIS wrapper. If that wrapper allows another > user to enter the FOSS world, that will (in the fullness of time) > contribute to reforming the vendor. > > Daniel Feenberg > > > ______________________________**_________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/**mailman/listinfo/freebsd-**questions<http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions>; > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-** > unsubscribe@freebsd.org <freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org>" >
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