Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 20:28:13 +0100 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: Eitan Adler <eitanadlerlist@gmail.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: using leds on laptop Message-ID: <20100201202813.9f3dc1c9.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <a0777e081002011022g3099b358ge83d5431d8ee62df@mail.gmail.com> References: <a0777e081002011022g3099b358ge83d5431d8ee62df@mail.gmail.com>
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On Mon, 1 Feb 2010 20:22:22 +0200, Eitan Adler <eitanadlerlist@gmail.com> wrote: > My laptop has a led for "wireless" - It has never been used since I > installed freeBSD on this laptop. I was wondering if there was a way I could > figure out a) if freeBSD detects it b) a way to use it for something I'm not sure if FreeBSD will detect the "pure LED", but as you mentioned that it is labelled "wireless", it is in relation to the WLAN inside the laptop. Maybe there's a device driver functionality that activates the LED when the WLAN device is active? But like with most "modern" inventions (such as jacks for phones and speakers that are controlled by a driver, or other nonsense), this issue will be so specific that there's only a very specific driver for an arbitrary version of "Windows" that utilizes "hidden" code inside the laptop's secret circuits to switch the LED on. :-) Do you use the laptop's WLAN, and does the LED correspond to any state (like activated, connected, scanning etc.) of the WLAN? Anyway, I would predict that you won't find an easy way to utilize this LED except you're writing a driver for it with specifications the laptop's manufacturer will sell to you if you put enough money onto the table. :-) Otherwise, it's completely useless. By the way, I have an older Toshiba laptop with a mechanical switch for the WLAN component. It activates a LED regardless of any OS-internal setting, maybe it's just switching the WLAN component's power off an on, along with the LED. But that's not "modern" - today's devices need a driver for that. :-) As I said: Useless stuff. -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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