On Wed, Dec 08, 1999 at 12:52:37PM -0800, Mike Smith wrote:
> > Unfortunately, FreeBSD has far too many examples of a working system
> > being replaced with a less functional system. Just off the top of my
> > head, there were the SCSI drivers lost to CAM, the PCCARD system,
> > sound drivers, and now ATA.
>
> Actually, most of this is histrionics. CAM didn't lose us SCSI drivers;
> we actually _gained_ from it.
We gained quite a bit from it, but let's not rewrite history. I
remember quite clearly that there was a very popular Adaptec SCSI
controller missing when the switch to CAM was made, and a lot of
people were inconvenienced. That is a matter of recorded historical
fact. Please don't misinterpret me; I am not suggesting that CAM
shouldn't have happened, that anyone did anything wrong or that it
should have been handled differently. I am merely pointing out
that "CAM didn't lose us SCSI drivers" is inaccurate.
> We haven't "lost" the pccard system at all
Again, this is not accurate. I have a laptop with which, two months
ago, I could use my LinkSys ethernet card, and I could use my digital
camera's compact flash adapter. I could eject them and put them back
in numerous times. I could suspend and resume. Due to some changes
in the pccard system, I can no longer do these things. Due to some
more recent changes, I can't even use my wireless IP card at all. So
it is a simple matter of fact that functionality has been lost. Of
course it is only temporary. Once again, I ask that you don't
misinterpret this simple statement of fact as a complaint or attack.
Warner's pccard work was desperately needed and I am confident that
eventually everything will be back and better than ever. And I am not
only willing, but happy to deal with these problems that I have
brought upon myself by choosing to run -current on my laptop.
> and the new sound code is on a feature-par with both of the old ones.
When it works, it works very well. But again, the fact is that I had
sound on this computer three years ago. I had sound a few weeks ago.
Then I didn't. Then it came back. Now it's gone again. It'll
probably come back next time I build a kernel (I have an AWE64). But
the fact is that something WAS lost:
$ cat > /dev/audio
zsh: device not configured: /dev/audio
> What we need here is a commitment to these new initiatives, not a lot of
> fence-sitting and clutching our knitting to our chests. All of these
> initiatives were started to deal with massive problems in the subsystems
> they replace; clinging to the old code rather than getting on-board and
> helping with the new code directly impedes the resolution of these
> problems.
>
> Again, I say, think of what we're trying to achieve here.
I fully agree that these things are neccessary and good. I just think
we need avoid jumping the gun on removing the old code, when some
people still need it to boot their machines.
--
Christopher Masto Senior Network Monkey NetMonger Communications
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