From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from smtp1.linuxfoundation.org (smtp1.linux-foundation.org [172.17.192.35]) by mail.linuxfoundation.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id B111B898 for ; Fri, 16 Oct 2015 09:21:49 +0000 (UTC) Received: from mail-ob0-f176.google.com (mail-ob0-f176.google.com [209.85.214.176]) by smtp1.linuxfoundation.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 205778C for ; Fri, 16 Oct 2015 09:21:49 +0000 (UTC) Received: by obbda8 with SMTP id da8so86185829obb.1 for ; Fri, 16 Oct 2015 02:21:48 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 In-Reply-To: <8E20B896-416E-4C76-877B-26B558D44422@holtmann.org> References: <20151012190137.GA1992@thunk.org> <1444978357.2370.8.camel@sipsolutions.net> <8179129.ZdLT4uWW88@wuerfel> <8E20B896-416E-4C76-877B-26B558D44422@holtmann.org> Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2015 11:21:48 +0200 Message-ID: From: Linus Walleij To: Marcel Holtmann Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Cc: Jakub Kicinski , "ksummit-discuss@lists.linuxfoundation.org" Subject: Re: [Ksummit-discuss] Draft agenda for the kernel summit List-Id: List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , On Fri, Oct 16, 2015 at 10:00 AM, Marcel Holtmann wrote: > Arnd: >> My understanding is that MediaTek has improved much recently and their >> mt76 wireless driver source is available and getting upstreamed (...) > are sure that Mediatek got better? I am not convinced by that. > > I think there is also a large difference in their MiniPCI cards compared to > their connectivity hub in their SoC. The Bluetooth side for example is > largely copying existing drivers, hacking their vendor specific behavior > in and then throwing it over the wall. When discussing the sadly unsupported MT7630E MiniPCI card which has both WiFi and Bluetooth Jakub Kicinski elaborated a bit on the story there: http://marc.info/?l=linux-wireless&m=143815707108278&w=2 It seems Mediatek got a bit of internal struggle, the kernel doing three different drivers sharing aspects of the same chip(s) and general mishmash due to a cocktail of factors: organizational, company consolidation etc, but also due to a few chips, especially MT7630E, ending up in a technical middle-ground between two families of chips. The person writing the MT7630E driver was obviously intending to upstream it, I can see the beginnings of an upstream attempt in the source code, but was apparently removed from that task before s/he could complete it. Sadly there is a bunch of users stuck with this card. They (including my daughter) survive by using a forwardport of the code drop from Mediatek, but who knows how long that thing will even compile. Linus Walleij