From: Bill Davidsen <davidsen@tmr.com>
To: vda <vda@port.imtp.ilyichevsk.odessa.ua>
Cc: Dax Kelson <dax@gurulabs.com>,
James Ketrenos <jketreno@linux.co.intel.com>,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [Announce] Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 802.11b driver
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 17:45:51 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <4050EC1F.2060005@tmr.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <200403101015.19506.vda@port.imtp.ilyichevsk.odessa.ua>
vda wrote:
> *FLAME ALERT*
> /me is slowly getting mad about his prism54 11g hardware
> and its firmware, with neither firmware authors nor documentation
> for this pile of silicon crap nowhere in sight
>
> What's so cool about having binary firmware? Bugs are bugs,
> and you won't be able to even see bugs, less fix, in it.
> I don't like being at the mercy of firmware authors.
There are two common reasons for binary firmware:
1 - it runs on some sort of a state machine implemented in an ASIC or
other device for which you have no manuals or assembler.
2 - since these devices are regulated all to hell by the FCC and other
non-technical groups balancing technical advice with political pressure,
a user might code the device out of spec, causing some manner of legal
hassle.
I don't know if (1) applies here, but I'd bet (2) is applicable.
Let's be happy that we have a driver and treat the device as a black
box. There are people paid to know enought details to write firmware,
I'm happy to treat NICs and CD/DVD burners with the "buy good and update
firmware at the first problem." Keeping the old firmaware of course.
-bill
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2004-03-11 22:40 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 23+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2004-03-09 20:24 [Announce] Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 802.11b driver James Ketrenos
2004-03-09 20:57 ` Arjan van de Ven
2004-03-09 22:01 ` James Ketrenos
2004-03-09 23:48 ` Marcel Holtmann
2004-03-09 21:05 ` Timothy Miller
2004-03-09 21:12 ` Dax Kelson
2004-03-10 2:46 ` James Ketrenos
2004-03-10 8:15 ` vda
2004-03-10 8:38 ` Jeff Garzik
2004-03-10 17:31 ` Timothy Miller
2004-03-10 17:26 ` Jeff Garzik
2004-03-12 0:32 ` Lincoln Dale
2004-03-11 1:07 ` Joel Jaeggli
2004-03-10 12:35 ` bert hubert
2004-03-10 18:06 ` Disconnect
2004-03-11 22:45 ` Bill Davidsen [this message]
2004-03-10 7:52 ` Jan De Luyck
2004-03-11 6:23 ` Jan De Luyck
2004-03-11 7:48 ` James Ketrenos
2004-03-11 8:05 ` Jan De Luyck
2004-03-11 18:37 ` Stephen Hemminger
2004-03-11 22:14 ` James Ketrenos
2004-03-11 22:27 ` Bill Davidsen
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