Re: ndiswrapper configs

Luke <[email protected]> Tue, 18 Jan 2005 08:05:16 -0600
Newsgroups gmane.linux.arklinux.devel
Message-ID <[email protected]>
Bernhard Rosenkraenzer wrote:

> On Wednesday 12 January 2005 20:09, Zackary Deems wrote:
>> Great.. is this ALL configs supported by ndiswrapper?
> 
> No, ndiswrapper supports virtually any network card, both wireless and
> normal. I've packaged the ones I could verify to work (meaning anything
> that is in any hardware I have access to that isn't supported natively),
> and I think this covers most chipsets, but certainly not all.
> 
>> Do we have it
>> documented someplace that these exist, so people will know they CAN
>> install them like that?
> 
> If you know where to look ;)
> http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/phpwiki/index.php/List
> 
> Search the page for "Ark Linux" and you'll find a couple of references.
> We need to document it better though, preferrably by just doing the right
> thing automatically (see below)
> 
>> Is there some way we can do it automagically if
>> we see that hardware on the system?
> 
> Not yet, but I've thought about it too. The basic idea would be to add
> another (optional) field to /usr/share/hwdata/pcitable, specifying the
> package[s] containing a driver.
> Then coldplug and hotplug must be patched to handle it -- problems that
> need to be solved before that can be done:
> - Must add and parse the extra field to pcitable
> - coldplug/hotplug must have a way to trigger an action when the a
> privileged
>   user logs in (in GUI mode) for the first time after new hardware was
>   detected -- we need to be able to prompt the user for things to do if we
>   can't determine it automatically (e.g. do we download a wireless driver
>   because the chip is there, even if the user is on a slow pay-per-minute
>   connection and doesn't want to use the wireless chip in his notebook
>   anyway?)
> 
> This is definitely something we should do, and once done, we can also use
> it to trim down the default install (there's not really a need to include
> 230 sound drivers in the core kernel package if there's an easy and 100%
> automated way to install the one(s) you need...).
> 
> I'll look into it.
> 
> LLaP
> bero

>- we need to be able to prompt the user for things to do if we
>  can't determine it automatically (e.g. do we download a wireless driver
>  because the chip is there, even if the user is on a slow pay-per-minute
>  connection and doesn't want to use the wireless chip in his notebook
>  anyway?)

I don't think this is a very good idea here. If the users only means of
accessing the net IS a wireless card then this totally nullifies the point
of ndiswrapper and automagic detection.

-- 
ArkLinux - Definition: Choice 
http://www.arklinux.org 
IRC channel - #arklinux

Luke Anthony Hebert