Are the broadcom wifi drivers located here included in OpenSuse 11.2?:
http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php
I think they are open source. I emailed broadcom and they say it’s up to OpenSuse on whether they include them in OpenSuse by default.
Is the broadcom fireware included in OpenSuse too?
In 11.2 it’s most via a 3rd party repo (Packman) I use it. Works brilliantly.
But it can depend on the version of the device.
11.3 will have native support in the kernel.
so will native support mean users won’t have to download the broadcom bcm43XX drivers or firmware?
Yes correct .
On 04/18/2010 09:56 PM, caf4926 wrote:
>
> ryan1414;2154490 Wrote:
>> so will native support mean users won’t have to download the broadcom
>> bcm43XX drivers or firmware?
> Yes correct .
This answer is completely wrong! The Broadcom drivers are NOT open
source. That means they can NEVER be included in an openSUSE
distribution. In addition, their license taints the kernel when they are
loaded.
If you use the open-source drivers b43 or b43legacy, then the firmware
will still need to be installed. The reason is that Broadcom has a
copyright on the firmware, and they will not give anyone the right to
distribute that firmware. The only way to get it is to download a
Broadcom driver and extract the firmware from that driver. Those steps
are what is done by the /usr/sbin/install_bcm43xx_firmware script.
I stand corrected.
Larry is the guru here. Thanks.