To: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org
From: Jon Fairbairn <jon.fairbairn@cl.cam.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: rt73usb Access point status
Date: Sun, 17 May 2009 15:31:40 +0100
Message-ID: <wfvdnzn6lv.fsf@calligramme.charmers>
References: <557754.25367.qm@web51403.mail.re2.yahoo.com> <20090512215817.bd1c6895.cjsthompson@gmail.com> <wf4ovlo25e.fsf@calligramme.charmers> <200905161132.21437.IvDoorn@gmail.com> <wfzldcm7zr.fsf@calligramme.charmers> <20090517145110.87b68ff2.cjsthompson@gmail.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Sender: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org

"Christoph .J Thompson" <cjsthompson@gmail.com> writes:

> On Sun, 17 May 2009 09:47:04 +0100
> Jon Fairbairn <jon.fairbairn@cl.cam.ac.uk> wrote:
>> the talk Butler Lampson gave for Roger
>> Needham's 50+5 presentation
>> <http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/cambridge/events/needhambook/videos/1032/head.wmv>
>
> Haven't used Windows seriously in over a decade,

I never have, except to look at web pages to check that
they're compatible with the bugs in internet exploiter.

> but as far as WiFi drivers I think there is no standards.

That -- more's the pity -- is partly the point of Lampson's
talk. Rather than have standards his claim is that if it
works on Windows it works, by definition, and that that's a
good thing. I don't agree with him about that last, but I
suspect mine is a minority view.

> Windows drivers are just like the vendor drivers for
> Linux: everyone is doing their own thing.

It would be nicer if they didn't do it that way, but what
would make them change? It's great that a few take notice of
Linux these days, but it'll be a long wait before many of
them develop on Linux and let the Windows community write
their own drivers.

-- 
Jón Fairbairn                                 Jon.Fairbairn@cl.cam.ac.uk