From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S262018AbTD2ObO (ORCPT ); Tue, 29 Apr 2003 10:31:14 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S262020AbTD2ObO (ORCPT ); Tue, 29 Apr 2003 10:31:14 -0400 Received: from dracula.eas.gatech.edu ([130.207.67.209]:63134 "EHLO shaft.shaftnet.org") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S262018AbTD2ObM (ORCPT ); Tue, 29 Apr 2003 10:31:12 -0400 Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 10:40:55 -0400 From: Stuffed Crust To: bas.mevissen@hetnet.nl Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: Broadcom BCM4306/BCM2050 support Message-ID: <20030429144055.GA11583@shaftnet.org> References: <4b4e01c30e4e$0352c5a0$d16897c2@hetnet.nl> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/signed; micalg=pgp-sha1; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; boundary="u3/rZRmxL6MmkK24" Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <4b4e01c30e4e$0352c5a0$d16897c2@hetnet.nl> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.1i Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org --u3/rZRmxL6MmkK24 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Tue, Apr 29, 2003 at 02:51:12PM +0200, bas.mevissen@hetnet.nl wrote: > > Don't expect specs or opensource drivers for any of these pieces > > of hardware until these vendors figure out a way to hide the frequency > > programming interface. >=20 > What did Intersil do? How did the linux-wlan-ng project handle this? The linux-wlan-ng project only handles the prism2/2.5/3 chipsets, which=20 are *extremely* well documented (and 2.4G-only), so there really isn't=20 anything to "handle"; from the driver perspective you just say "give=20 me channel X" and that's it. If the eeprom-based tables say you can=20 use the channel, it lets you; otherwise it's No Soup For You. =20 Intersil is a poor example; they've generally been quite forthcoming with documentation. Granted, the docs for the PrismGT/etc stuff are pretty bad, but you can get them without selling your soul.=20 (it's also worth mentioning that Intersil partially funded linux-wlan-ng's development) =20 RF tables and regulation might be an excuse chipset companies use to hide their specs, but the real reasons tend to be a bit more along the lines of: "We want to protect our valuable IP" =2E..which translates to: "We want to protect our violations of other people's valuable IP" It's CYA, plain and simple. They're so terrified of litigation that=20 they feel that *any* semi-public information (even if only source code)=20 is a threat.=20 Many of them genuinely want to provide Linux support, in the form of binary drivers much like Windows has. Then they balk when realizing what a support hell (and $$$) it will be to pull it off without providing source code, thanks to the monolothic nature of the Linux kernel.=20 Or at least that's been my experience in the past year. - Pizza --=20 Solomon Peachy pizza@f*cktheusers.org ICQ #1318444 Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur Melbourne, FL --u3/rZRmxL6MmkK24 Content-Type: application/pgp-signature Content-Disposition: inline -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE+ro73PuLgii2759ARAoFLAJ9po7iOMpyXyEUGNUxkNGvb/sgtFwCeMnOg QHpwXMxt+TOczQsx/BFnXz4= =0glK -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --u3/rZRmxL6MmkK24--