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The Problem With Driver-Loaded Firmware

Posted by Hemos on from the crippleware-in-the-physical-world dept.

Kadin2048 writes "If you've gone to a big-box store and purchased a wireless card recently, you might have had some trouble getting it to work under Linux, or any non-Windows OS for that matter. One reason for this is that more and more manufacturers are producing hardware that are useless without proprietary firmware. While these new designs allow for lower parts counts and thus lower cost, it presents a serious problem for F/OSS software because it can sometimes guarantee no out-of-the-box compatibility. Jem Matzan has produced a detailed article, "The battle for wireless network drivers," on the subject, including interviews with manufacturers' representatives and OS developers, including Theo de Raadt. The bottom line? In general, Asian hardware manufacturers were far more responsive and liberal about firmware than U.S. manufacturers (Intel included). Look for more firmware issues in the future, as not only wireless hardware, but regular wired Ethernet cards, take the driver-loaded firmware approach."

2 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. No wonder it doesn't work for OSS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Why should they produce for an OS that has very miniscule marketshare?

  2. THERE IS NO PROBLEM! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    http://madwifi.org/wiki/Compatibility

    See? Lots of supported WiFi cards.

    WiFi cards not listed in this list are broken and need to be replaced.