Re: LCC and blobs

[Darren Salt <linux@youmustbejoking.demon.co.uk>]

I demand that Måns Rullgård may or may not have written...

> Anthony DeRobertis <anthony@derobert.net> writes:
>> Henning Makholm wrote:
>>> Scripsit Anthony DeRobertis <anthony@derobert.net>
>>>> That would, however, cover firmware and wind up sending X to contrib. So
>>>> maybe: ... iff it is stored on the local machine's file system.
>>> That would be my *intuitive* understanding of how the mail/contrib
>>> difference works.
>> So would a web-based firmware loader, that never saved the firmware to
>> disk allow the drivers to be in main?

> This could be as simple as mounting a tmpfs on /lib/firmware, and wgetting
> some firmware files before loading any modules that might need them.  The
> slightly more complicated solution would be to modify the hotplug scripts
> to fetch the files automatically.

Problems:

  * no network connection
    - perhaps the hardware requires a firmware upload?
    - usually resolvable with a cheap (<=£10) card

  * part-time network connection
    - machine may be a laptop
    - connection may be time-limited in some way, e.g. to avoid per-call or
      time-based charges on a dial-up account

I'd say that a local cache is needed, though whether it's used should be up
to the local admin.

-- 
| Darren Salt   | nr. Ashington, | linux (or ds) at
| woody, sarge, | Northumberland | youmustbejoking
| RISC OS       | Toon Army      | demon co uk
|   We've got Shearer, you haven't

Since you're going to die anyway, can we use you as a shield?