Open Source HAL for Atheros WLAN Chipsets
Developer Sam Leffler has released the HAL code of the WiFi drivers for Atheros chipsets as open source.
The Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) was until recently the only proprietary, exclusively binary component of the Madwifi driver for WLAN cards with Atheros chips. The drivers themselves are dually licensed under BSD and GPLv2.
Leffler has now published the code under the Open Source ISC license, while simultaneously ending his agreement with Atheros, who supplied the developer with hardware information. In future, his realization of HAL will serve as a reference implementation.
The code is available in the Subversion Archive of the the freeBSD Project. It can be applied to both Linux ATH5K and ATH9K. Interested developers can gain more information on the ath5k-devel and ath9K-devel mailing lists.
Issue 264/2022
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
ExTiX 22.9 Released with Support for Installing Android Apps
The developers of the ExTiX Linux Distribution have released a new version that includes added support to make installing and using Android apps on the desktop a breeze.
-
System76 Skips Pop!_OS 22.10 to Focus on COSMIC Desktop
In a move that is sure to raise some eyebrows, System76 has chosen to concentrate on COSMIC Desktop instead of staying in step with Ubuntu releases.
-
New Look for System76 Thelio
System76 has given their already stellar Thelio desktop computer a redesign by way of the chassis accent panel.
-
Ubuntu Software Store Rumored to Replace Gnome Software
An alternative to GNOME Software has been written, using Flutter, and it’s making enough noise that Canonical is rumored to be considering using it as the default.
-
A New Arch-Based Linux Distribution Has Arrived
Crystal Linux is a new distribution with the goal of bringing the power of Arch Linux to the masses.
-
Fedora 37 Beta Available
The Fedora development team announced the beta for version 37 of the open-source operating system would be released on time on September 13, 2022.
-
Salix 15.0 Offers Updates and a Modernized Look
Salix is a Slackware-based Linux distribution with a new look and a goal of being fast, user-friendly, and highly stable.
-
Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS Release Now Available
The latest point release of the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS distribution is now available and sports kernel 5.15.
-
MX Linux 21.2 Offers Improvements and Bug Fixes
MX Linux 21.2, aka “Wildflower,” is now officially available and is the second refresh of the MX-21 release.
-
Gnome Project Releases New Telemetry Data Collection Tool
The GNOME developers have announced the release of a new tool to collect anonymous information about your system.