Thanks for a hint -

Post #282,582

4/21/07 9:08:58 PM

4/22/07 4:45:09 AM

Thanks for a hint -

$20 is a fair price for stated purposes.. maybe - 'course with 3 machines - maybe one will be a Conexant clone; then it's 20/year if kernel upgraded.

TANSTAAFL.

Guess it's 14.4 free module-test time

Later:
no need.. scratch the HP notebook:
Puppy ID'd it as a ESS 'Super Link' modem. ESS says:

Q: Does ESS modem devices support Linux OS? <sic>

A: The DSP codes to handle modem communication on a Win Modem or host-based modem (HSP) is ESS intellectual property and is not available for Linux public code release. <sic\ufffd>

ESS only has limited support for Linux modem driver, mainly because Linux driver needs to be built differently based on its kernel version. For resource reason we can only work with OEM customers to provide Linux support based on requested build version. Please check with your hardware vendor for Linux support policy.

Swell - proprietary AND.. every new kernel build needs driver rework.

..all those dead modems in all those notebooks - designed by Rumsfeld-Doze LLC, maybe?

Edited by Ashton April 22, 2007, 04:45:09 AM EDT

Thanks for a hint -

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Post #282,596

by static

4/22/07 8:51:55 AM

This is not surprising.

I found a good explanation for such a policy a number of months ago when I was researching softmodem support in Linux. Basically, when you bought a modem that had a phone line on the business end and a serial port on the other, you were paying as much for the hardware as for the firmware to implement all that fancy encoding. Once modems started moving into internal slots and then into laptop motherboards, they could dispense with the firmware and the serial interface and just have a DSP and some memory for its program. And the program is now part of the driver which they can much more easily upgrade for bug fixes and features. And it makes the hardware cheaper. Much cheaper. (And they can make the DSP simpler if the driver does some of the work in the main CPU, too.)

Unfortunately, this DSP programming is just as proprietary and expensive as it was in the hardware version. In fact, it is so valuable they will not just 'give it away'. This is why many softmodems do not have a Linux driver, unless perhaps they can provide a pre-compiled module for you.

It also explains why there are few open-source implementations: programming these things is hard work and if you're good enough to be able to do it in your spare time, you could probably get a job with someone who makes them. Or you'd probably prefer to work on a higher profile project, like a wireless card or even a graphics card.

Wade.

Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed

Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please

-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

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Post #282,690

by Ashton

4/23/07 6:56:47 AM

4/23/07 6:58:51 AM

Thanks - nicely legible explanation.

Where my lore fails is:
W.T.F. the concept "modular" - is not applicable to a one-size-fits-all [*nix build.]
Yes, the CPU needs to arrange some memory for running the {missing} modem-engine and
Yes, part of the operations of a chosen DSP may or may not be (also) delegated to the CPU == yan memory allocation for these ancillary calcs.

But.. reinvent those wheels for every kernel change?
So then, W.T.F. does "modular" really *mean* re *nix?

Yeah.. ignorance Kills.

(pToy)

Edited by Ashton April 23, 2007, 06:58:51 AM EDT

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Post #282,708

by static

4/23/07 9:33:29 AM

It is an Intellectual Property concern.

If they're willing to compile it for your Linux kernel, they are obviously able to compile it for a range of kernels. But they still want you to get it from them, perhaps even in exchange for money. They just don't want you to hand it out to all at large. That's their right, whether or not they choose to exercise it. IOW, it's not a technical limitation.

Wade.

Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed

Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please

-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

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· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

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