From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-path: Received: from c60.cesmail.net ([216.154.195.49]:49148 "EHLO c60.cesmail.net" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1758820AbXLNEVG convert rfc822-to-8bit (ORCPT ); Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:21:06 -0500 Message-ID: <20071213232103.kbrglyv2848c444w@webmail.spamcop.net> (sfid-20071214_042114_421511_2E9DA344) Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:21:03 -0500 From: Pavel Roskin To: Randy Cushman Cc: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: BCM4306 Questions References: <475F2DAD.4000708@roadrunner.com> <200712121214.50522.mb@bu3sch.de> <475FCB46.2030209@roadrunner.com> <200712121300.59811.mb@bu3sch.de> <47608102.5010105@roadrunner.com> <1197508664.13188.27.camel@dv> <4761DFA9.3020305@roadrunner.com> In-Reply-To: <4761DFA9.3020305@roadrunner.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; DelSp=Yes format=flowed Sender: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: Quoting Randy Cushman : > However considering how I process information, along with additional > factors, the process caused difficulty for me: > 1) The bcm43xx-fwcutter man page and its -l option contradict the web > page, indicating that firmware can be extracted from recent versions of > bcmwl5.sys (include many versions 4.x) for use with bcm43xx. OK, this part could probably be "deemphasized" or preceded with the comment that the latest firmware in not necessarily the best, at least for the purpose of the reverse engineered driver. In the same time, support for extracting the firmware from the new drivers could be added, just to provide such option for whatever reasons. > 2) Personal experience: The driver Windows XP found for this HP > adapter was unstable. This led me to treat as suspect any driver not > obtained from HP. The firmware in "soft-MAC" devices has little effect on stability. It's the driver that does most of the work and communicates with the OS. The driver is not being extracted, only the firmware. > 3) I had no way of knowing that firmware from any random driver would > work with my adapter. > 4) I preferred using a driver/firmware from a trusted website over one > from an unknown website. OK, that's just healthy skepticism :) Thanks for your detailed answers. It may help create a better experience for the future users. -- Regards, Pavel Roskin