Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 18:38:08 +1100 (EST) From: Ian Smith <smithi@nimnet.asn.au> To: Michael Nottebrock <lofi@freebsd.org> Cc: stable@freebsd.org, Joe Vender <jvender@owensboro.net> Subject: Re: pppd crashes, was: kde-freebsd] Question about KPPP on FreeBSD Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.1070208170852.12110A-100000@gaia.nimnet.asn.au> In-Reply-To: <200702071933.35688.lofi@freebsd.org>
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On Wed, 7 Feb 2007, Michael Nottebrock wrote: > On Wednesday, 7. February 2007 18:45, Joe Vender wrote: > > On Wednesday 07 February 2007 01:59, Michael Nottebrock wrote: > > ... > > > > > There is https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=55785 on record, your > > > description sounds more like you're getting a kernel panic in the > > > background though (KPPP is a frontend for pppd and the in-kernel ppp > > > driver). > > > > If I want to use KPPP in FreeBSD, do I need to first manually edit any > > config files for pppd, and if so, please elaborate, or does creating the > > settings in the "Configure" sections of KPPP take care of everything > > needed? > > > > I found this bug report which sounds just like the problem I'm having with > > FreeBSD and KPPP. > > http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=i386/98154 > > I agree, that sounds similar. I've changed the CC to stable@, since that is a > better place for pppd/kernel ppp related issues. > > > Is there any intention to address it? > > I call on the community (especially those with modems) to take it on. To that > end, I've left your motivational speech below intact for everyone's benefit. Perhaps we should rather be calling upon the KDE developer community to provide such a frontend interface to configure and invoke FreeBSD's ppp, for those who find a little manual configuration, as you describe below, beyond them? > > IMHO, setting up a dialup connection in FreeBSD via ppp seems like jumping > > through hoops, even compared to linux. > > Personally, I think it's pretty easy - for modem users it usually means just > editing four lines in /etc/ppp/ppp.conf (device, phone number, user, > password) then typing ppp<return> in a shell, then typing dial<return> and > they're online. That's pretty much the same amount of data input and > interaction that kppp requires. Indeed. And connecting small scripts to go online, and to hangup when desired (eg by kill `cat /var/run/ppp0.pid`) to a pretty desktop button or two for the one-clicker's convenience would be a useful KDE addition, assuming that the Linux bias that makes some other functions of KDE less than useful on a FreeBSD system (despite the excellent work by porters), could likewise be ameliorated? Not to suggest that any pppd/kernel interaction problems ought not to be addressed by those wishing to maintain pppd for linux compatibility or other reasons, but the reality is that most FreeBSD users have long preferred user ppp for dialup, and more recently for ADSL via PPPoE. Respectfully, Ian (using KDE despite ongoing bloat and linux-centricism) > > I was told on the freebsd-questions > > mailing list that KPPP uses pppd, and that pppd is known to be very buggy > > and essentially unmaintained in FreeBSD. If this is true, then a very > > easy-to-use feature of KDE, namely KPPP for setting up a dialup connection, > > is not going to be usable. A lot of users are going to be put off FreeBSD > > if they can't use KPPP with a serial modem on dialup. FreeBSD needs a > > usable KPPP, and therefore a working and maintained pppd, if it has any > > plans to be considered a user-friendly desktop alternative to linux, not to > > mention an alternative to Windows. > > > Cheers, > -- > ,_, | Michael Nottebrock | lofi@freebsd.org > (/^ ^\) | FreeBSD - The Power to Serve | http://www.freebsd.org > \u/ | K Desktop Environment on FreeBSD | http://freebsd.kde.org
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