From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Jan 4 00:57:15 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D659E106566B for ; Wed, 4 Jan 2012 00:57:15 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from junkrigsailor@gmail.com) Received: from mail-pw0-f54.google.com (mail-pw0-f54.google.com [209.85.160.54]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A3C988FC1F for ; Wed, 4 Jan 2012 00:57:15 +0000 (UTC) Received: by pbcc3 with SMTP id c3so14499465pbc.13 for ; Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:57:15 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:to :cc:content-type; bh=NC6p8qdqprODBSnq8Ib8uvlS5vM5bjnsfaUIwiHQa0w=; b=qv3tKd3qRc3zfhImCEEQSmWqb2aeRNnioXxDLF4KsFRQno6KYVa7TWKkRxawX5Ws26 xtsd/sfio10C+GH4Yd7BY85hzxSuZo/ssUv/SzK8GpDmKUkr8L06XzSoR8eRrVtgWC54 IrpgZzkpVJ7xzzUa6u4fPJ5JZrnHfNIkJQm24= MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: by 10.68.199.38 with SMTP id jh6mr135595531pbc.77.1325638634996; Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:57:14 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.68.25.233 with HTTP; Tue, 3 Jan 2012 16:57:14 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: References: <4F02A3CE.7020404@herveybayaustralia.com.au> <20120103071028.4964dd33@scorpio> <4F030E00.5020806@herveybayaustralia.com.au> <4F038F8F.3090701@herveybayaustralia.com.au> Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 18:57:14 -0600 Message-ID: From: Jeffrey McFadden To: Daniel Feenberg Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.5 Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, Da Rock Subject: Re: Realtek RTL8191SEvB Linux driver? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:57:15 -0000 On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 6:38 PM, Daniel Feenberg 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 >>> >>> or the man page for 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 > > 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. > > 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 > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-** > unsubscribe@freebsd.org " >