On 12/31/21, hiro <23h...@gmail.com> wrote: > > so instead i learned to be a little bit picky about the hardware > avoiding having to write drivers for everything that doesn't work. > The Lenovo Thinkpad T68 I managed to lay my hands on wasn't that cheap and came with an Atheros based wi-fi card. So, yes one has to be picky. I think I can replace the card, but it won't come cheaply. SSD and memory are a hassle, too.
I've had an HP Pavilion for long enough to wear the lettering on some popular keys away and only discovered recently that in fact it will run 9front out of the box. Legacy doesn't seem to support XHCI (USB) and I have no idea quite how that connects to both the ethernet and the wi-fi adapters, that's a research project by itself; unlike what I imagine drives Vic, I like to know that I can complete a task within a reasonable time and my poor knowledge means little does get accomplished around here. But I do enjoy the rare achievement when I get that right (my Plan 9 workstation uses freefonts through fontsrv, hardly perfect, but I can choose from a very broad range of fonts - not that I need to, mind you, it's just that I have yet to find a satisfactory font, Ubuntu comes close). 9atom can shut down all the hardware I boot it on, neither legacy nor 9front can do the same, again, on the hardware I own (and I have some old stuff lying around). I have little idea how to compare the three kernels as they have diverged rather significantly, based on the source code. I do wish I could propagate my preferences into a single Plan 9 kernel release, I find the divergence very frustrating. Full disclosure: I don't "run" 9atom on anything. I can see where 9front has the edge, by quite a margin, and I hesitate to suggest that it has veered off the Plan 9 tradition to accommodate the PC complexities, without quite addressing the real objectives of PC platforms: web browsing, office document handling and gaming. I don't believe that any descendant of Plan 9 can retain simplicity and fulfil those needs. When it comes to "research", though, specially slightly unfocussed personal satisfaction type of research, I find legacy - which I have known since early in the 1990s, I own a 2ed CD set - more true to its own philosophy. Like Hiro, I don't for one moment want to chastise 9front users, I can see why their aims are very different from my own. I am however entitled to pursue mine, with no need to draw insignificant comparisons that can so quickly devolve into pissing contests. Just my perspective. I'd like to hear how Vic sees this kind of cyber archeology. Or anyone else's views, for that matter. Lucio. ------------------------------------------ 9fans: 9fans Permalink: https://9fans.topicbox.com/groups/9fans/T5888591114a7cf34-Mda6222ee0cc841b923ca9f0e Delivery options: https://9fans.topicbox.com/groups/9fans/subscription
