mikeb mikeb has posted comments on this change. ( https://review.coreboot.org/c/coreboot/+/31225 )
Change subject: src/mainboard/lenovo/g505s/Kconfig: disable DRIVERS_INTEL_WIFI by default ......................................................................
Patch Set 2:
(1 comment)
Patch Set 2: Code-Review-1
If there is any chance that this device hosts such a card, it should default to `y`, IMHO.
As said at the commit message, this chance is very very small because all G505S shipped without Intel cards preinstalled, people couldn't install them because of the whitelist while there was a proprietary UEFI, and those who upgraded to coreboot are security conscious enough to choose ath9k over intel.
I know a lot of coreboot+G505S owners, but none of them have Intel WiFi installed. I am confident that we should not select a configuration if 99.9% or even 100% of coreboot+G505S users will not ever need it. The remaining 0%-0.1% could enable this configuration at Generic Drivers : it is still there, just disabled by default.
https://review.coreboot.org/#/c/31225/2//COMMIT_MSG Commit Message:
https://review.coreboot.org/#/c/31225/2//COMMIT_MSG@13 PS2, Line 13: have a much better software freedom status and are the preferred choice.
Because they hide their firmware better?
No non-free firmware is required to operate Atheros ath9k cards, and this is why many of these cards have been shipped at librebooted FSF-endorsed laptops. Meanwhile, all the Intel cards require a non-free firmware, so their freedom status is much worse. See more info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_open-source_wireless_drivers