[gNewSense-users] Re: wireless config

[Quiliro Ordóñez]

Oh, BTW, you have to understand that there are two parts that you will need to run the device:
1. The driver (this one is free software)
2. The firmware (this one is not)

The case of this particular chipset of RaLink is the same as the case of Intel Wireless NIC because Intel also requires that the free driver to load the non-free firmware in order to run the device.

Now everything is clear. 

We in the gNewSense community have been taking time to remove all of the non-free firmwares from the Linux kernel. That's why I said that you might not be able to run the device if you used it directly under gNewSense since the needed firmware might have long gone. This is a point that you have to check anyway.

I am aware of this.

So, either you buy another RaLink product whose chipset has a free firmware or you follow some howtos to get both the driver and the non-free firmware installed on your system. I hope you don't take the latter.

I will stick with option #2 because I feel I should give something back to those who do  value freedom and have since written free software. If I do not use non-free software will tell them that I think that what they did was right.

Nonetheless, I think that the best would be to have a free firmware package. I feel I am not ready to make one but I think that I might be able to learn. What skills should I have to master and what are the steps required to learn them? Another option might be to hire someone to develop the driver. How much do you think this would cost?

Saludos/Greetings
Quiliro Ordóñez
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http://quiliro.wordpress.com
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