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My first contribution to Linux

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Re: My first contribution to Linux

#21

Post by leakycap »

dmurray wrote: post #16
pankalog wrote: post #12

If I had no problem with devoting the time and money, contributing to the kernel (especially in a topic as obscure as making the extra buttons work on a 20-year-old laptop) is at the top of my bucket list, and I am definitely going to be doing it in the near future when my calendar clears up a bit. Exquisite write-up and OP's simple writing has a motivating ring to it, and I'm now on the local used marketplace lookin…

I feel most laptops still don't work completely out of the box with Linux, so you don't have to hunt for old hardware. Maybe you won't find an issue as simple as fixing a button, though.

> Maybe you won't find an issue as simple as fixing a button, though.

Every laptop I've used with linux has had a few non-functioning buttons and keys. I think you underestimate the widespread issue.

Re: My first contribution to Linux

#22

Post by fnicfnac »

leakycap wrote: post #21
dmurray wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel most laptops still don't work completely out of the box with Linux, so you don't have to hunt for old hardware. Maybe you won't find an issue as simple as fixing a button, though.

> Maybe you won't find an issue as simple as fixing a button, though. Every laptop I've used with linux has had a few non-functioning buttons and keys. I think you underestimate the widespread issue.

We might have a different definition of issue.. I think 100% compatibile working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer. I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine.

Re: My first contribution to Linux

#24

Post by leakycap »

fnicfnac wrote: post #22
leakycap wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe you won't find an issue as simple as fixing a button, though. Every laptop I've used with linux has had a few non-functioning buttons and keys. I think you underestimate the widespread issue.

We might have a different definition of issue.. I think 100% compatibile working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer. I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine.

> I think 100% compatibile [sic] working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer.

Making a physical button work requires bloatware in your understanding?

> I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine.

Do you know what you're trying to say here? I do not.

Re: My first contribution to Linux

#25

Post by pixl97 »

leakycap wrote: post #24
fnicfnac wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We might have a different definition of issue.. I think 100% compatibile working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer. I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine.

> I think 100% compatibile [sic] working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer. Making a physical button work requires bloatware in your understanding? > I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine. Do you know what you're trying to say here? I do not.

I think it's more of the buttons perform specialized tricks to launch bloatware in Windows.

Some of the issue here is the keys themselves have almost no standardization, even across models. Hell, possibly in the same model sometimes. Some backend windows driver captures these signals via a 50 mile long series of if statements that make grown men weep when viewed. This later can mean your totally working fix for the kernel doesn't actually work on a 1/3rd of that fleet of laptops.

Re: My first contribution to Linux

#26

Post by leakycap »

pixl97 wrote: post #25
leakycap wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think 100% compatibile [sic] working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer. Making a physical button work requires bloatware in your understanding? > I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine. Do you know what you're trying to say here? I do not.

I think it's more of the buttons perform specialized tricks to launch bloatware in Windows. Some of the issue here is the keys themselves have almost no standardization, even across models. Hell, possibly in the same model sometimes. Some backend windows driver captures these signals via a 50 mile long series of if statements that make grown men weep when viewed. This later can mean your totally working fix for the k…

> I think it's more of the buttons perform specialized tricks to launch bloatware in Windows.

The linked article is discussing play/pause buttons as well as a "mode-switch" button that allows the play/pause button to have a second function. I do not understand how any of these regular functions become bloatware in your estimation.

> Some of the issue here is the keys themselves have almost no standardization, even across models.

There is actually widespread standardization, which is why many important keys work by default. Laptops sometimes have buttons to disable the internal wifi or adjust the keyboard brightness. These keys are less universal, but still hard to categorize as bloatware.

> ome backend windows driver captures these signals via a 50 mile long series of if statements that make grown men weep when viewed.

I don't know any grown men who would weep when viewing this. I'm confused that you do not like a simple solution (if statements, which a computer has zero problems following precisely even if it is complex to you) nor the complex solution ("bloatware")

> This later can mean your totally working fix for the kernel doesn't actually work on a 1/3rd of that fleet of laptops.

Most devices used in fleets are well-supported in linux after a few years, specifically because of users like the linked article who spend time making buttons worked when pressed.

Re: My first contribution to Linux

#27

Post by akdor1154 »

pankalog wrote: post #12

If I had no problem with devoting the time and money, contributing to the kernel (especially in a topic as obscure as making the extra buttons work on a 20-year-old laptop) is at the top of my bucket list, and I am definitely going to be doing it in the near future when my calendar clears up a bit. Exquisite write-up and OP's simple writing has a motivating ring to it, and I'm now on the local used marketplace lookin…

Yep, it definitely is well above 'basememt full of model trains' on my (sadly far-off) list of retirement activities.

Re: My first contribution to Linux

#29

Post by fnicfnac »

leakycap wrote: post #24
fnicfnac wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We might have a different definition of issue.. I think 100% compatibile working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer. I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine.

> I think 100% compatibile [sic] working would be launching bloatware installed by the manufacturer. Making a physical button work requires bloatware in your understanding? > I'm happy not to have the pavlovian training that may some day cause me to click one of these things on someone's windows machine. Do you know what you're trying to say here? I do not.

You can obviously map arbitrary key codes however you want on a custom OS and have extremely little fear of someone having embedded nonsense down to the bios.

On windows many of these laptop buttons were added like the Yahoo browser bar to specifically work with bloatware that might go on to make a meaningful action for non malicious software as well as what it is really for.

I prefer not to be in the habit of pressing footguns given that I might occasionally be placed in front of a consumers windows laptop that no one cleaned.

Re: My first contribution to Linux

#30

Post by akdor1154 »

rvz wrote: post #10

This is the easiest way to hire engineers with high quality open source contributions with a public track record. All it takes is just to check that the commit shows up in upstream projects such as Linux and anyone can see the code, the reviews and the authors email in the AUTHORS file which verify that this contribution / patch is indeed from the author who committed that change. This is a very old form of social pr…

Be careful.. any measure becomes a target, and in doing so voids its usefulness. Getting a kernel patch in is probably already somewhat afflicted by this, but imagine the lkml if every Bay Area wannabe company started soft-requiring this as a screen!
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