Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 21:01:44 +0000 From: Peter Harrison <four.harrisons@googlemail.com> To: Da Rock <freebsd-questions@herveybayaustralia.com.au> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Realtek RTL8191SEvB Linux driver? Message-ID: <904803AA-31CD-41EC-927A-51A9EB49DEB6@googlemail.com> In-Reply-To: <4F03A678.6050903@herveybayaustralia.com.au> 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> <4F03A678.6050903@herveybayaustralia.com.au>
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On 4 Jan 2012, at 01:08, Da Rock wrote: > On 01/04/12 10:38, Daniel Feenberg wrote: >>=20 >>=20 >> On Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Da Rock wrote: >>=20 >>> On 01/04/12 02:10, Daniel Feenberg wrote: >>>>=20 >>>>=20 >>>> On Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Da Rock wrote: >>>>=20 >>>>> On 01/03/12 22:10, Jerry wrote: >>>>>> On Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:44:30 +1000 >>>>>> Da Rock articulated: >>>>>>=20 >>>>>>> On 01/03/12 11:15, Jeffrey McFadden wrote: >>>>=20 >>>>=20 >>>> Don't ndis(4) ndiscvt and ndisgen(8) essentially accomplish what = the OP is requesting? See the handbook section 12.8.1.1: >>>>=20 >>>> = http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/config-network-s= etup.html >>>>=20 >>>> or the man page for ndiscvt: >>>>=20 >>>> http://www.gsp.com/cgi-bin/man.cgi?section=3D8&topic=3Dndiscvt >>>>=20 >>>>=20 >>>> 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? >>=20 >>> Oh yes, it is possible, just not probable :) >>=20 >> At >>=20 >> = http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/ndiswrapper/index.php?title=3DCatego= ry:USB >>=20 >> 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. > Indeed :) >=20 > I did notice that the card in question wasn't on that list. But my own = experience with ndiswrapper and wifi cards were far less than = satisfactory- the firmware always got in the road. But I may have just = been too stupid at the time :) >> 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. > No they are absolutely not of poor character, I agree. Some messages = can be misconstrued, though, in that the replies can be terse and more = logical than sympathetic. Sometimes it is easier to replace with a = different card than flog a dead horse, although a user may take offense = for emotional or financial reasons more than logical. >=20 > Mitigation is a difficult path as I have found personally, although = NDIS helps immensely with wired nics (not so much of a problem these = days), and I believe Luigi Rizzo's work with the linuxulator and drivers = is to be applauded ten fold. It takes a great deal of time though- I put = forward the idea when I was still a BSD pup not entirely realising the = challenges :) Luigi (and his colleagues) has been working hard ever = since to facilitate the more challenging aspects of multimedia drivers = (whether or not that had to do with my comments or not, I don't know). Da Rock, I've been using ndis drivers successfully with a Broadcom chip in my = Lenovo s10-e since I bought it some years ago - to the extent that I've = not yet switched over to the native drivers now available. I didn't find using ndisgen too problematic. Just a case of finding the = right driver files and following the manpage. I'd strongly recommend = trying it in preference to a usb stick (been there, done that) or buying = new hardware - although I'd agree that depending on the model changing a = mini-PCI card isn't necessarily that difficult (I changed it t an Intel = card in my other Dell laptop some time ago - remember to attach the = internal aerial cable!). Regards, Peter Harrison. > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to = "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"
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