Will Wifi Ever Happen?

[beanfarmer]

ok people i know sdio cards might work one day and as such would that mean that we could be surfing the net @ wireless hotspots from our beautiful gp2x's just wondering coz i know psp users can already do this out the box (mind you carnt use homebrew then, unless u use a homebrew brower,)

neways any answer would be cool thanx

 

[DijiTao]

With SDIO it is 100% possible - however there is no indication as to it actually getting done.

 

[RiX0R]

SDIO support is currently highly improbable because of legal issues. Other than that, I don't see WiFi happening...

 

[(naw)mcx]

well it would be pointless for multiplayer , no one has one and i cant make them get one

 

[geniv]

SDIO support is currently highly improbable because of legal issues. Other than that, I don't see WiFi happening...

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why is SDIO have legal issues? I never heard of it before personally

 

[statikeffeck]

but eventually it could be useful for multiplayer - GP2X homebrew users playing/communicating with PSP & DS Homebrew users.

 

[BradN]

The organization that made the SDIO standard likes to keep the details under lock and key, only shelling out in exchange for some serious cash. However, I don't think reverse engineering would necessarily be illegal, and certainly would be fine in countries that don't honor any related patents or such. Besides the SDIO interface, there would need to be drivers for the actual wireless chipset too. But the upside of all of this is I'm pretty sure there are wireless cards that can be made to work on the Zaurus**, which is also a linux based ARM device...

** Edit: stupid typo - zodiac -> zaurus

 

[aapje89]

The organization that made the SDIO standard likes to keep the details under lock and key, only shelling out in exchange for some serious cash. However, I don't think reverse engineering would necessarily be illegal, and certainly would be fine in countries that don't honor any related patents or such. Besides the SDIO interface, there would need to be drivers for the actual wireless chipset too. But the upside of all of this is I'm pretty sure there are wireless cards that can be made to work on the Zodiac, which is also a linux based ARM device...

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isnt reverse enginering of other peoples stuff without permission always illegal?

 

[esavior]

The organization that made the SDIO standard likes to keep the details under lock and key, only shelling out in exchange for some serious cash.  However, I don't think reverse engineering would necessarily be illegal, and certainly would be fine in countries that don't honor any related patents or such.  Besides the SDIO interface, there would need to be drivers for the actual wireless chipset too.  But the upside of all of this is I'm pretty sure there are wireless cards that can be made to work on the Zodiac, which is also a linux based ARM device...

​

isnt reverse enginering of other peoples stuff without permission always illegal?

​

If you want to read into the legal stuff check out: http://www.jenkins-ip.com/serv/serv_6.htm
There is no easy answer to that question, it all really depends on where you live. But as a general practice it has been widely used through out the history of computers.

(I originally said nope, but then decided that not everyone is under the same laws)

 

[Ferentix]

I don't think so... I mean, it happens all the time in industry doesn't it? A competitor makes a product, and other companies will look at it, try to work out what makes it tick, and try to make their own version that's different enough to be legally sold. Well, that's the impression I get anyway, and is probably wrong but...

Anyway, RE happens all the time, especially in homebrew with closed consoles. Plus there are unofficial drivers for certain hardware, and there don't seem to be legal issues with them as far as I can tell...

 

[beanfarmer]

this all sounds cool does ne1 know of ne alturnitives to sdio, or how long till sdio is compatable, its just my freind has a psp and he is slaging off the gp2x because of its lack of wifi

 

[Ferentix]

Well you could just slag psp off because of its lack of open homebrew Anyway, you can hardly go around sneering at stuff because it doesn't have feature X or Y (unless they are vital parts of course). For GP2X, Wi-Fi would be nice, but it is by no means vital. Maybe later on it'll happen, and that'll be a nice bonus, but really it's not really a make or break feature for it (well, not from my point of view anyway, but then again I already have a Wi-Fi enabled handheld, DS).

 

[triton]

im just slightly supprised some dev somewhere hasnt just messed around with it for the hell of it, i know if i knew anything about linux and stuff i would be screwing around and seeing what it can do i hope we do get sdio wifi someday, i know it probably wont be for a while but, hey, we didnt expect a PSX emulator so soon either

 

[nubie]

Just use the Bluetooth dongle, it's better for a handheld anyway, and it is already built. see toyz4boys.com

aka nigelbrown.com

 

[triton]

christ, if your gonna reference a site at least put a working link in your post PLEASE!! i know the site and ive been to it but hell if i can remember the URL, i dont have it bookmarked EDIT: found it for those of us less fortunate here is the link the link

 

[donny662]

There was a big supreme court case about reverse engineering as it applied to some company (I don't remember which) that RE'd IBM's PC and they were allowed to sell they're IBM compatible version. I don't know all the details, and I don't want to look it up. But, this won't apply to any RE job. If only IBM had put a highly inadequate encryption system on thier floppies (like DVD and CSS) :rolleyes: .

 

[Rayek]

There's already been a topic about SDIO, I checked the web for info and found that SDIO has very specific requirements.

SDIO Specs pdf, check page 7 for info.

or i'll just quote it:

2.5 Host Requirements for SDIO
In order for a host to completely support all of the capabilities of the SDIO cards, some signal connections
must be supported. In order to support interrupts, the host shall have Pin 8 connected from the card to the host
in order to provide interrupt signaling. This is true even if the host will only support the SPI or 1 bit SD mode. In
addition, if the host supports more than 1 card in either SD mode, the CMD and all 4 data lines (DAT[3:0])
should not be bussed together, but rather routed separately to the host. This will allow the mixing of card types
in the different sockets without interference. Both the SD Memory specification and the SDIO specification
support the concept of “unifying” (connecting together) the CMD lines in a multi-slot system after initialization.

It seems that devices that support SDIO actually have had to have this in mind, when it comes to hardware support. Unless the GP2X has this, no SDIO capabilities. I don't know about the GP2X's SD capabilities. iF anyone knows, please prove me wrong, I'd love to make the GP2X a camera .

Hardware aside, I still even think that it's not possible because it uses a lot of power, even when in 'off' mode. Something like 100 mAs (!) for some cards! (Page 22, if you've downloaded the pdf.)

 

[Rayek]

Does anyone know if the above is correct? If the GP2X can handle the SDIO cards? I would absolutely shit myself if I could make the gp2x a camera... or a TV! check this out:
http://www.sdcard.com/usa/TextPage.asp?Page=5

 

[Hanz™]

I thought it was impossible?

 

[Rayek]

Hmmm. I was asking if the GP2X meets SDIO requirements. I was posting a problem that it might have, and was asking if anyone knew about the GP2X's SD capabilities regarding the quote I posted.

Anyone know about if pin 8 is connected straight from the card to the host? Or if the dat. 4 lines are bussed together?