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> The actual problem with winmodems was them breaking the established software/hardware boundary, and the Linux community not having the resources to follow sui
by yencabulator 5mo ago
> The actual problem with winmodems was them breaking the established software/hardware boundary, and the Linux community not having the resources to follow suit.
I think you misspelled "winmodems were completely proprietary and prevented Linux community from writing their own drivers for the hardware".
Winmodems were the beginning of the era of "you cannot be allowed to use the hardware".
(As a technical solution, SDR makes perfect sense. The obstacle isn't technical.)
- tardedmeme 5mo agoNothing about a winmodem prevented you writing a Linux driver. The problem is that nobody did write one.
- yencabulator 5mo agoDetails of the hardware were kept proprietary.
- tardedmeme 5mo agoDetails of most hardware are kept proprietary.
- yencabulator 5mo agoA lot of hardware that has had Linux drivers written for it is specced openly in this style: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/datasheets/82576eb-gigabit-ethernet-controller-datasheet.pdf https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents...
- tardedmeme 5mo agoAnd a lot of it isn't.