[LUGSB] Wireless card

[Aaron Pellman-Isaacs]

Agreed. I'd say it's preferable to *not* use ndiswrapper, but it's no 
more evil than, say, using the binary nvidia drivers if needed (ie, I 
*wish* they'd provide a FOSS graphics driver, but I need accelerated 
graphics regardless - the same goes for wireless wireless).
Aaron
Diane Napolitano wrote:
> On 2/7/07, *Chris Wright* <dhasenan at gmail.com 
> <mailto:dhasenan at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     On 8 Feb 2007 01:40:42 -0000, Ilya Sukhanov (dotCOMmie)
>     <lugsb at sukhanov.net <mailto:lugsb at sukhanov.net>> wrote:
>     >
>     > On 2/7/2007, "William Joseph Lahti" < wlahti at ic.sunysb.edu
>     <mailto:wlahti at ic.sunysb.edu>> wrote:
>     >
>     > >Avishay,
>     > >
>     > >Have you tried working with ndiswrapper to get your current
>     wireless to
>     > >work?
>     >
>     > Ndiswrapper is evil and should be avoided at all costs.
>
>     What's evil about it? It's a security concern, if a minor one, since
>     any untoward code probably relies on the NT kernel and wouldn't be
>     supported by ndiswrapper (Linux-native binary blobs are a much
>     greater
>     concern); it's a stability concern, though there are enough people
>     using each wireless card that that is probably minimal. As a practical
>     matter, it's a low-risk but uncertain means of achieving important
>     functionality.
>
>     Politically, if you care about that (not everyone who uses Linux cares
>     about OS politics), ndiswrapper is a step away from corporate hardware
>     support for Linux, but a step toward a universal driver format and a
>     means of increasing the Linux userbase.
>
>     Religiously, of course, you are entirely correct. A modern Buddha
>     would (and indeed has!) declared that binary drivers are the work of
>     Angra Mainyu, the destructive spirit. Not to mention the opinions J.R.
>     "Bob" Dobbs. Though according to the prophet of Enlil, the open source
>     movement is a source of moral decay, if not a notable one.
>     Unfortunately, since Emperor Norton I of America is dead, we are
>     unlikely to achieve a definitive answer to this conundrum.
>
>  
> My good sir, are you implying that the opinions of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs 
> are...evil? :)
>
> I do agree with both sides on the ndiswrapper debate, however I must 
> say that I am happily using a Netgear WG311v3 card in my PC ATM, 
> thanks to ndiswrapper.  It reminds me of the "solutions" to the 
> "Winmodems" of, like, seven years ago...is ndiswrapper evil?  
> Inherently so.  But does it solve a huge and annoying problem that 
> shouldn't really exist in the first place?  I think the answer is 
> obvious ;)
>
> So by all means, if you can easily avoid getting a card that requires 
> ndiswrapper, do so...but if you're like me and you can only afford to 
> drop $15 on a wireless card and that Netgear card on eBay fits your 
> needs...
>
> Just my $0.02,
> Diane
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