[Asterisk-Users] Digium should develop and sell just Dummy card. For timing...

[Andrew Kohlsmith]

> Why make additional hardware whose driver needs be ported to other
> systems when you can make similar dummy interfaces? What happens to the
> systems that don't have PCI buses. I can think of some older MAC
> hardware that can run linux, but not PCI cards. Not that I would bother
> my self with one of them, but the point stands only to say that building
> hardware for a timing source that doesn't have another function is
> stupid.

I don't think you'll be running Asterisk on anything older than a P2 to be 
honest, and even then the utility is severely hampered due to everything 
being done in software on *.

Also, they're not making _additional_ hardware -- the timing source is built 
in to that Tiger 320 chip.  They're just using it.

> BTW, according to /usr/src/linux/Documentation/rtc.txt, I doubt there is
> many systems we will encounter that don't have a rtc.

Agreed, but I'm thinking custom hardware here.  * boxes with a couple T1 
framers, maybe a DS3 interface at some point...  Why spend $3 on an RTC?  
(Well I'd put one on but that's me.)  AFIAK there is a little bit of 
screwiness in the zaprtc driver anyway since the RTC interrupt is 1024Hz 
not 1000Hz.

> The official response is in the code if you ever take time to read it.
> Since Mark is the chief maintainer of CVS, he probably agreed to
> anything that made it's way into the code base.

How many newbies do you know that will go read source code to find answers?  
That's ridiculous.  Why bother with manuals and FAQs and examples then?  
The source is not the place you look for answers like this, IMO.

> Well at least I stayed out of the email formatting war of late. I've
> been ignoring almost any HTML email, and for the most part quit dealing
> with this list.

Hmm it didn't seem all that bad to me, but then again I am subscribed to 
linux-elitists and crackmonkey so I might have a high tolerance for such 
things.  :-)

Regards,
Andrew