Google results seem to suggest for Fedora that you have 2 options: * Get the proprietary Broadcom firmware and use the fw-cutter tool to extract the firmware and drop it in /lib/firmware http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#device_firmware_installation
* Use the open rewrite/replacement from the OpenFWWF project which is allegedly as simple as a yum install b43-openfwwf Project: http://www.ing.unibs.it/openfwwf/ Forum post where I read about it: http://fedoraforum.org/forum/showthread.php?t=228418 -Shawn On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 2:11 PM, Bill Sconce <sco...@in-spec-inc.com> wrote: > I got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago, from a public library in a > small New Hampshire town, with the subject > > HELP SAVE US FROM MICROSOFT! > > (I am not making this up.) Such a plea caused me to do some > perhaps-foolish things. I called the library; I volunteered > to help them; I omitted to ask what hardware was involved. > > Turns out they had acquired a pair of Dell E5500 laptops (under > a Gates Foundation grant, I believe), and of course the machines > came with you-know-who's software. And not just the operating > system, but a selection of add-on cruft including DeepFreeze and > "role management" apps, the combination of which proved to be a > nightmare and impossible to get or keep working. Eventually > someone suggested to the library that the "Linux community" > might be able to help; somehow my name came up, and I received > the HELP SAVE US message. > > After an initial visit, I burned a Fedora 13 live CD for them > to try, took it over to the library, booted it and showed it off. > All OK. > > But then the zinger: of COURSE...they only use wireless. And > of COURSE...the laptop has a Broadcom Wifi adapter. And of course > it doesn't work. > > I've spent today so far researching. I searched my GNHLUG archives > and found only one discussion, circa 2/22.(*) > > >From the Web it looks like "fwcutter", proprietary firmware > copyrights, kernel modules...pretty ugly. (And Latitudes use > Nvidia, but it does seem that Fedora 13 has the Nvidia part > working.) > > Does anyone have experience, either with this laptop (Dell > Dimension E5500) or with getting a $#! Broadcom adapter to work > (a 4318 apparently) -- or experience which justifies a decision > to just not do this? > > > Many thanks! > > Be_careful_what_you_volunteer_for'ly yrs, > > -Bill > > > (*) 2/22: Wherein Alan Johnson offers the clearly definitive advice, > "In any case, be sure to steer clear of Broadcom". > > _______________________________________________ > gnhlug-discuss mailing list > gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org > http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/ >
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