Re: [gNewSense-users] network connection

[dajo]

Hello Sam,

Thank you for your comments, which clearly took some effort on your part. 
However, I regret that I still do not understand how it is that there is a
common reluctance to write "I use a <name here> network card successfully
under gNewSense".  As I have indicated before, I wanted to use free
software but was held back by my existing network card; so, when I had
some time, I bought a couple of cards, flipped a coin, chose a card, and,
lo and behold, got lucky the first time - it worked.  Hence:

I use a D-Link DGE-530T (wired) network card successfully under gNewSense.

I realize that this is a very small piece of information; I cannot even
tell you which driver is in use - but it is already in gNewSense 2.3.  I
have informed address@hidden

dajo


> > address@hidden schreef:
> > This thread of mine just preceded another thread "Converting people to
> > free software" and I find this juxtaposition interesting and what is
> > happening somewhat curious.  I want to use a free distribution; I have
> > arrived here via websites for fsf and gNewSense, and a "get help"
link.  I
> > got help, for which I am very grateful, in divining the problem - a
> > non-free network card - but when I ask the almost trivial question "which
> > of the 40 or so acceptable cards listed on the fsf site probably will
work
> > with gNewSense?" (alternatively: "which card do you use?") I get complete
> > silence.  That is very frustrating, very puzzling; and, in the context of
> > a discussion about attracting people to free software, very confusing.  I
> > do not even need to be "converted", but I cannot get some simple hardware
> > recommendations!
>
> I understand that this is frustrating. I often get frustrated with not
> finding good hardware myself. There are several issues involved here:
>
> - The non-free must be separated out from the free. This is what
> gNewSense/Linux-libre do.
> - Find out which chips work with free drivers/firmware. This is enabled
> by the first step: users can run/install either and report if stuff
> works and post lspci output. The many similar "Works in Ubuntu!" reports
> on the Web are useless, because they don't say if the software
> supporting it is free.
> - Mapping consumer hardware (model no. etc.) to chips/drivers/firmware.
> This is the information you'd like to take to the store. Because of the
> multitude of devices out there and the lack of information from
> manufacturers this step takes a lot of effort from many users. Sadly,
> only a small fraction of users take part in this. Most complain when it
> doesn't work, but keep silent when it does work.
> - Mapping stores to consumer hardware. Typing a device model number into
> a search engine often leads to some US based company that requires a
> credit card to pay and only ships to US and Canada. Local shops around
> here often have lesser known (or lesser tested) brands or have crappy
> (or even no) websites which are out of date. So this great device I want
> only exists in theory for me. A good worldwide directory would be useful
> for this, but pretty much impossible to build and maintain.
>
> So if more users were helping in building a hardware database then
> hardware recommendations would indeed be simple. But as it is now we
> just have to make do with the information we have in the FSF list and
> some other resources (I believe our wiki does have some hardware reports).
>
> > I still would like to get recommendations for network cards; I leave for
> > the computer store, for something else, in an hour or two 8-)
>
> The 8139too driver has been around for years, so anything based on that
> should work. I'm not sure it that's still sold (or even modern), though.