Re: [9fans] Broadcom drivers, yet again


I see what you mean, Jack. Thanks to virtualization, this is no longer a problem. Newbies can
deal with Vmware or Qemu.
Regarding the fact vendors change their chipsets very often, I agree with you, this is a very
anoying problem (especially with notebooks).
The fact is you cannot say precisely on which hardware plan9 will work, because specs
are changing quicly.
However, there is only a few things to know :
- Some SATA chipsets are now supported thanks to Erik, but you still cannot install
plan9 to SATA devices because 9load has not been recompiled to do so (yet).
- Only UHCI Usb controlers are supported, which means you can forget AMD/ATI
chipset if you have to deal with usb devices (other than kbd or mouse).
- Thanks to VESA support, almost all graphic cards are working (except you can have
some freezes because realmode doesn't work well with mp).
- Realtek and Intel networking controller are working quite well (sometimes you have
to add pci ids to the sources).

Phil;

Jack Johnson a écrit :
Newbies have an expectation, even with non-commercial software now,
that they can take a random box, pop in a CD, and if they have any
problems it's likely that their display looks like crap and they can't
print (think Linux or Vista). What might be helpful for our newbies
is to say something like hey, a Dell GX1 through GX260 should work off
the shelf, or an HP/Compaq models L through X but not V, no Sonys,
whatever. Give everyone some arbitrary measure so when they're
eyeballing a workstation at the store or in the garage or wherever
they don't have to boot it to find out what the integrated chipset is
and whether or not it's supported.

The wiki used to do a better job in this regard, but the problem is a
wooden boat. Too many models, user pool is too small, vendors change
their chipsets with their underwear. But, users tend to have just two
questions in this arena: will this work with my hardware, or what
should I buy/find to work with Plan 9?

It would probably be easiest to just say it up front:

"Will Plan 9 work with my hardware?"
"Probably not all of it. But, your mind only works with 10% of your
brain, so it's not a big deal."
"What hardware should I buy to work with Plan 9?"
"...NIC: Intel PRO/100 or PRO/1000..."
"Hey, I have that already!"
"You just saved $40."

-Jack



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