[Arm-netbook] Removing wifi

[lkcl luke]

On Tue, Jul 3, 2012 at 7:34 PM,  <freebirds at hushmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for recommending the EOMA-68 CPU Card. I looked at Rhombus Tech's
> website. EOMA-68 will have wifi.

 that's incorrect, in two ways.  the first way is that EOMA-68 is a
standard - see http://elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/EOMA-68

 on this standard, WIFI is *not* mentioned.  anywhere.  it is however
entirely optional.

 the second way that you are incorrect is that the first EOMA-68 CPU
Card will be an Allwinner A10 CPU Card, where, on that CPU Card whilst
there is room to squeeze on (just) a WIFI module, and there is nothing
in the EOMA-68 standard which prevents any manufacturer from doing so,
we have chosen *NOT* to add WIFI because it would a) push the price up
b) complicate the design

 so there will *NOT* be WIFI - i repeat - there will *NOT* be WIFI
on-board the first A10 EOMA-68 CPU Card.

 now. if you look closely at the design, here:
    http://elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/EOMA-68/Laptop

 you will see that the proposed laptop design has WIFI as an
*OPTIONAL* mini PCI-e USB-based module (ATH9K, because it requires no
non-free firmware for GNU/Linux systems).  one of the primary reasons
for taking this modular approach is precisely to cover the case where
people specifically do not want WIFI, exactly as you do not want WIFI.

 so you would therefore, under this design, have the option of just...
not installing that module.

 with a budget of $900 (per laptop? how many?) - if there are others
who also want laptops (and there is at least one person that does), it
would not take more people to actually get to cover the $2,000 NREs to
get the PCBs designed and some samples manufactured.

 anyone else?  (i know i want one!  and i have a friend who has been
asking for one for 2 years now).

 l.