[kde-linux] Re: bluetooth on acer aspire one d255

[Duncan]

yahoo-pier_andreit posted on Sat, 07 May 2011 16:55:09 +0200 as excerpted:

> or build your own from source, in
>> ordered to get support.
> 
> do yuo say that I can compile a kernel with support for my BT?? where I
> can find the source with support??
> many years ago I did it, it wasn't so difficult,

I didn't really look far enough in the google search to see if it was 
already in the mainline kernel (now close to 2.6.39) or not.

What I did is use google's linux-specific search, google.com/linux  
(instead of the generic search at just google.com), and feed it 
"Atheros AR5BBU12" (w/o the quotes) as search terms.

BTW, you might want to bookmark that linux search page, google.com/linux.  
Also, if you use web shortcuts (see the config in konqueror's settings or 
under account details in kcontrol) frequently as I do, but again like me, 
do NOT tend to use the google I'm feeling lucky shortcut, ggl:, you may 
wish to reconfigure that to be a google-linux shortcut.  That's actually 
the way I do most of my google-linux searches, not using the google.com/
linux web page itself.  Simply take the default google search (gg: 
shortcut) and copy it to ggl:, add the /linux right after the domain name, 
and change the name accordingly.  OK/Apply out and start using ggl:

So then the above search becomes simply:

ggl:Atheros AR5BBU12

in either krunner or the konqueror address bar.

Or, if you prefer a simple link to just this search:

http://www.google.com/linux?q=atheros+ar5bbu12&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

As you can see, there's patches floating around, but I'm not sure they're 
in mainline yet, and given the February/March dates, that's not too 
surprising.

So while you can certainly find and add the patches, the status of 
documentation and the like is probably such that if you don't already have 
a good familiarity with both routine kernel config and building AND 
userspace bluetooth tools and config, you'll likely find that building it 
yourself /and/ getting it working is quite a challenge indeed!

I know I'm familiar with building my own kernel and routinely build and 
test pre-releases, filing bugs and doing git-bisects when necessary to pin 
them down, and I can and do occasionally handle raw patches as well.  So 
that side of things wouldn't phase me.  However, I'd still expect to find 
it a rather difficult challenge, because it'd be my first attempt at 
configuring a working bluetooth stack on Linux, and I'd be doing it with 
new and poorly documented drivers that may need tweaks to the normal 
config.  If I had configured at least one working bluetooth install on 
Linux, I'd be much more comfortable with the idea of trying to do so for 
this new driver, but that's not the case.

However, one thing I *CAN* say from experience, having sorted out for 
example how to run partitioned md/raid as my first experience with RAID, 
back when the partitioned md/raid feature was in the kernel but new enough 
it wasn't well documented yet... by the time you are finished, you 
**WILL** know **WAY** more about both the kernel and user subsystems side 
of whatever you're working on learning.  If you're suitably determined, 
you can probably do it even not being that familiar with things already, 
and you WILL learn quite a bit while you're at it.  Just be aware it's 
going to take you some time, probably at least a day's worth of work, and 
very possibly more like a week's worth or more, if you don't know much 
about either modern kernel patching, config and build, OR how to configure 
bluetooth in general on Linux.

But if you have the time and the determination, you'll be a lot wiser for 
having done it when you are done -- to the point you'll very likely be 
able to help others with it, perhaps even writing up your own guide for 
it, should you decide to do so.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman