[Gllug] BT ADSL and USB

[Dave Cridland]

On 10 Jul 2001 13:48:32 +0100, Richard Cohen wrote:
> On 10 Jul 2001, Dave Cridland wrote:
> 
> > On 09 Jul 2001 20:43:48 +0100, Richard Cohen wrote:
> > > On Mon, 9 Jul 2001, Axel Segebrecht wrote:
> > > > 1.) does the supplied usb modem work on linux (md7.2)?
> > >
> > > Yes.  Use the Benoit driver from
> > > http://benoit.papillault.free.fr/speedtouch/index.en.html
> >
> > Does this driver work better than the Alcatel driver for 2.4?
> > Does this require a 2.4 kernel? Because I don't think that Mandrake < 8
> > comes with 2.4.x, does it?
> 
> I don't use vendor kernels, and frankly, limiting your hardware or driver
> availability depending on which kernel your vendor has provided seems to go
> against the point of Linux.

That's true enough, except:

a) I tend to run with the kernel major versions (2.2/2.4) that the
distributor went for, simply because otherwise you tend to get rid of
the support the package manager is providing, since you've usually got
to upgrade quite a lot. I don't always, mind, but generally I do at
home, and always in a commercial environment. Of course, this is a
personal preference, dictated by laziness in not writing my own RPMs to
support the new tools I install, etc.

b) I enjoy berating the obvious. It's more useful for anyone newer to
Linux, or indeed anyone who doesn't care about anything more than
getting things working in a hurry.

> >From the Benoit driver FAQ:
> 7. What kernel version is known to work?

[Snipped useful info I should have looked up myself...]

[Snipped interesting info]

> 
> Both drivers were running on exactly the same hardware, so it must have
> been a software fault which made it unusably unstable

Agreed, I've never found the end result using the Alcatel drivers to be as
reliable as the Windows 2000 drivers. Good to know there's a better alternative.

It's nice it's open source, but quite honestly, my real concern is that it works.

Which is the reason I use Linux. Not because it's open source, or even free,
although both these certainly help.

Very out of fashion, I know.

Dave.

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