ndiswrapper

[D. Joe Anderson]

On Sat, Oct 30, 2004 at 07:51:19PM -0500, Jonathan Hutchins wrote:
> On Saturday 30 October 2004 06:42 pm, Leo Mauler wrote:
> 
> > One might as well try to argue that one shouldn't use
> > WINE and WineX in Linux...
> 
> Completely different situation.  These allow you to use legacy software you 
> already own and already have data in.  I found an inexpensive wireless card 
> with a linux driver, at CompUSA.  There's no real reason to buy one that's 
> incompatible.

Perhaps a better comparison is to say that one should also
refuse to use any piece of hardware for which the source code of
the firmware on any kind of on-board ROM device is not
free-as-in-free-software free.

That comparison is apt because, so far as I understand, hardware
manufacturers are forgoing putting firmware on ROM devices much
any more, and instead that firmware is what is being downloaded
from the proprietary-only drivers.  It's a bit like flashing the
ROM of the hardware, but instead of being ROM, it's on-board
RAM, and instead of being flashed, it's just loaded up like any
other data.

So, under this comparison, one wouldn't be able to use most
hardware, including most motherboards.  Granted, there are now
open source BIOSes available, but I expect only the most extreme
are arguing that you shouldn't buy a motherboard unless it comes
loaded with one of these or is known to work with them.

Finally, taking this completely to the extreme, one might argue
that in order to encourage the industry to shed its proprietary
ways, one should only use designs developed by the Open Cores
project (http://www.opencores.org) and produced in fabs (are
there any) that use only openly-available (those on which all
patents have expired?) fab techniques.

Seriously, it's a continuum.  It's better to use as much free
stuff as you can, but it's more important (or less delusionally
ridiculous) to create a market for free stuff than it is to
think you're going to make the market for non-free stuff
disappear by refusing to buy or use something.

-- 
Joe