Re: GPL source code for Smart USB 56 modem (includes ALSA AC97 patch)

Theodore Ts'o
2004-09-09T16:36:42Z

On Thu, Sep 09, 2004 at 12:47:47PM +0100, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:
> dear linux kernel people,
>
> i was staggered to find that swansmart (smlink.com) have a GPL
> driver for their smart usb 56k modem.
>
> i trust that someone will download, check it, and if
> appropriate, incorporate it into the mainstream linux kernel.

It's mostly GPL'ed, but there are binary-only objects both in the
user-mode daemon (modem/dsplibs.o) and in the kernel driver
(drivers/amrlibs.o).

The good news is that there a completely GPL'ed, source-complete
driver already in the 2.6 kernel, sound/pci/intel8x0m.c, which will
work with the user-mode daemon found in the smlink.com distribution.
This driver doesn't have all of the functionality of slamr driver
(which requires the propietary, binary-only object file) --- most
notably, ATM1 doesn't work when using the completely open-source
intl8x0m driver. However, it does work just fine, and so as long as
you don't mind using the propietary object file in user-space, it's a
great solution. I've been using the smlink daemon with both the
open-source and partial-propietary driver, and both work just fine on
my T40 laptop.

- Ted