On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 06:58:16PM -0700, Sha'ul wrote: > Currently my AR9485WB is not supported under athn(4) so I am > thinking of switching it to something like the Centrino Advanced-N > 6205 that is supported through iwn(4) but with non-free firmware. > > Would it be advisable to switch cards so I can finally have wifi > support or for the sake of being completely free would it be wiser > to wait until my AR9485 is supported? > > If parts of the ISC-licensed ath9k driver can be ported over I would > much rather wait but there still seems to be issues with getting it > to work or initiate. > > Or can someone suggest a totally free wireless card to replace the > one I got?
The only difference between athn(4) and iwn(4) in terms of firmware is whether or not the firmware files can be distributed with the base OS. Apart from that, firmware images are binary code so they might not fit everyone's definition of "completely free". I'm not sure if you mean "free redistribution" (which is what OpenBSD cares about for firmware) or something else. I would suggest to buy a card that works, no matter what driver supports it. I recently bought a used and supported iwn(4) card for about 10 EUR. It's definitely possible to find supported hardware out there. And then please consider sending your AR9485WB to a developer who is interested in making it work. Perhaps that will improve the situation in the long term. (I already have an AR9485. I need help with figuring out show-stopper bugs in the driver, I don't need another card.)
