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Linux Centrino Driver Update
Edy52285 writes "An article on News.com talks about how Intel has been, and still is, dragging on releasing their Linux drivers for Centrino. Intel is reluctant to release its drivers as open source since doing so would reveal secrets about their wireless hardware. Linux in currently unable to take advantage of Centrino's wireless networking devices, without, that is, prying $20 from your thin wallet to buy Linuxant's DriverLoader (discussed in an earlier story). Will Swope (Intel's General Manager of Software and Solutions Group) said in an interview said "What I believe will happen is we will end up having a Linux compatibility driver that is not open source at first, then designing future drivers in such a way that they are open source but will not expose intellectual property," Intel seem to be taking its time on releasing the drivers, and even in the article, there is a lack of any commitment on a date or under what conditions the drivers will be released." Also, someone pointed out that it's worth checking out ndiswrapper for the driver.
Hardware details -- it's like a chef not wanting to talk about his latest recipie, because that's the big secret. Sure, you and I probably don't have the cookware (hardware fab plant), but other restaurants (AMD and Qualcomm) would probably be very interested.
Not true. I'm using the open-source ndiswrapper project together with the win32 drivers, and it works, although a bit buggy. See here
...I won't buy a "Centrino" laptop. That's fine, since Apple's laptops are looking more appealing anyway, and still run Linux. Some of those new AMD offerings in mobile computing, as well as Tranmeta's installation in some of the Sony lines make them nice options as well.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Controlling a microwave radio with bits on a data bus from a digital processor issuing an interrupt signal is an invention and highly protected intellectual property. Please respect that. Jobs are at stake.
Why don't they do like nVidia, release a pre-compiled binary driver core and an open-source, compilable interface, which hopefully will manage to unify all diferences between different kernel versions and distros ?
Alvie
AFAIK, the radio emissions from the wireless card are regulated (by the FCC in the US?) so as to avoid interference with other spectrum users. Much of this regulation is acheived through the close-source drivers.
Using modified drivers, it would be possible to make the card emit different frequencies or more power, thereby violating the usage licence.
This revealed, do most linux users even want a Centrino-based laptop?
Hells yeah! I'm within a year of replacing my old PIII 550Mhz Compaq laptop, which has been a trusty and faithful machine until recently but is now starting to give me hardware problems.
My next machine would be a Dell 300M running SUSE because it's ultra-portable, but thanks to Intel dragging their feet my next machine will probably be a G5 powerbook running Fink. Actually, Dell gets part-credit. Their recent quality control problems have made me suspect the reliability of their hardware.
That's the way the market works. Hey Intel, thanks for playing, but this ball just went over the fence!
If this were Usenet, I'd killfile the lot of you.
Trying to obscure hardware by only handing out binary-only drivers and hiding the API from the average programmer does not help at all against professional counterfeiting / industrial espionage. But it's quite amusing to see a company like Intel play the security-by-obscurity song.
They should know better.
Odds are Intel does know better than you armchair engineers.
Having worked there up until a few years ago, I'd say that most of them agree with the "armchair engineers" and think it's silly to try to hide stuff this way. But there are (lets see, where's that Post Anonymously button?) flaming morons in various management positions (mostly marketing) that are totally clueless. AMD, et al. have the resources to disassemble the binary only drivers anyway, so the only thing you are doing is slowing the adoption by technically oriented users, but they can not / will not see this.
We even had people like Linus, ESR, BP, etc. come out and do dog & pony shows about why it's a Good Idea to open things like this up, but the only thing that seems to be working is a gradual process of selective retirement of the morons. (Intel's culling process to rid itself of the clueless can best be described as "brutal".) Saddly (since I still have stock & and friends in Intel) there is a fair voluntary exodus of the cluefull as well.
-- Anonomous Coward
P.S. The funniest part of the dog & pony show was when one of the PHPs listed among the downside of open sourcing the "fact" that it would piss off MS.
The legal department people who were there were not clueless and came down on the poor idiot like a ton of lead. From the hurt look on his face I think he expected them to side with him.