When HN users recommended it
1 HN user recommended this in 2019, in one comment.
20072026
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
1 HN user recommended this in 2019, in one comment.
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
> it's a total non-issue
Finding a wifi dongle with a free driver is more difficult than you give it credit for.
While testing out Trisquel, I sought to do exactly this. Turns out, the best resource we've got for checking wifi card compatibility with free software is here:
https://h-node.org/wifi/catalogue/en
So I settled on a TP-Link N150, which supposedly uses an Atheros chipset and a free driver [0], and is easily found on Amazon. [1] Should be all good, right? Oops! The newest revision of that adaptor uses a Realtek driver instead of an Atheros driver, so no more FOSS driver.[2] Your only option then is to order a specialized one from ThinkPenguin at a generous markup, which the average user is probably not going to know or think to do.[3] It's also not helping my sales pitch to prospective Trisquel users: "Please ignore the wifi card that your laptop came with and that every other OS supports, and shell out an additional 20 bucks so that your Free Operating System can actually use wifi.
To end the story, I returned the Amazon adaptor and never bought a proper one that worked: I just switched my Trisquel testing to a laptop that had an ethernet port.
[0] https://h-node.org/wifi/view/en/357/Atheros-Communications-I...
[1]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SZEOLG/ref=oh_aui_sear...
[2]https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RDCADVGT5FXLM/ref...
[3]https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-us...