System Administrator wrote: > > Unlike FreeBSD, this project (OpenBSD) does not support or incorporate > drivers based around binary-blobs. Furthermore, with rare exceptions, > the project does not reverse-engineer but insists on having complete > documentation to do proper development. Back in the days of the > Escalade product line (the 5000 and 6000 series PATA RAID) 3ware Corp. > produced the twe driver. But they have subsequently abandoned support > for it and have steadfastly refused to release any documentation for > their hardware. As a result, you should expect this hardware to be non- > functional in OpenBSD. AFAIK, the FreeBSD twa driver is not portable to > OpenBSD because a major portion of it is a binary blob. > > If you want more details and additional background on these matters, > you should search the mailing list archives for the discussions > involving 3ware. >
OK ... but you could tone it down just a touch ... while it does inconvenience me, I can fully understand the feeling. I wasn't aware the twa driver is/was based upon a binary blob ... I've been booted into OpenBSD all day (except for a quick interval while I checked the mail), and I haven't yet checked your point about twa being based upon a binary blob, but in either case, I can't really disagree with any way that OpenBSD goes, mainly because I feel that those who do the coding get 100% of the vote. It might have an affect on popularity, but OpenBSD is written for the satisfaction of the coders, and not to make some profit, or to please a board of directors. Don't make the assumption that everyone is like the average Windows user. That doesn't mean I fully agree, just that I think I don't really get a vote here, and while that might sound a bit harsh to some folks, the result isn't all that bad.
