Fw: ISA to USB adapter

[Gregory Nowak]

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On Fri, Nov 10, 2006 at 10:19:54AM +0100, Samuel Thibault wrote:
> I _STRONGLY_ doubt this... The USB stack has changed a lot between linux
> 2.4.26 and nowadays 2.6.18...
> 

That's what I thought, but they did say _any_ kernel, so I thought
that maybe I was wrong in thinking it would run under 2.6.x.

> > On the bright side, they have their own API used to talk to the
> > usb-connected isa device, and it looks like it does allow you to talk
> > fully to any isa card.
> 
> Oh! Then a free driver could be written.
> 

For what, the isa card? If so, then I didn't see a problem there in
the first place. All that would be required as far as I know, would be
to
modify existing code that works with the isa card, to communicate with
that card using their API, over usb.

> > So, with a bit of coding in speakup, it should be useable,
> 
> That should rather be done in the Linux kernel.  Not only blind people
> would like to use such card...
> 

Let me address that comment literally first, and then I'll clear the
misconception that seems to have arisen here I think. First, I don't
know why someone other then a blind person would want to use a
doubletalk pc, unless it was for development purposes, especially
since you can't by them brand new anymore.

Now, let me address the misconception that I think we have here. When
I say talk to the isa card, I literally mean just that, talk to the
isa card. From your comments, I think you're misinterpreting that, and
reading it as talk to the usb device the isa card is mounted in. The
API I mentioned is their own API used to talk _directly_ to the isa
card, once the kernel module, and the user space program for the usb
device the card is mounted in have been loaded. So, if you mean that a
free driver for the usb to isa device should be in the linux kernel,
since everybody would want to use it, I do agree there. In that case,
as has been done with other hardware, you'd need to spy on how the usb
device communicates with the system with the proprietary code running,
and then try to replicate that in a free driver, assuming that their
lawyers haven't thought ahead of you, and already prohibited you from
doing such a thing in their license agreement.

Greg




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