Support for "old" hardware (was:Re: kern/148741: [sound] Headphones are deaf (do not work) on Lenovo ThinkPad X300)

[Dieter BSD]

Alexander writes:
> Also, adding special exception for this laptop to the driver is quite
> pointless because while it will pass next 6 months FreeBSD release cycle
> this already not new laptop will be out of market for even more time and
> will be mostly forgotten.

Are we to throw computers in the landfill once they are 5 minutes old?
Not very green. :-(

> AC'97 is absolutely different beast. It is so old that I have no plans
> to spend my time on fixing it.

AC'97 may be useful or not useful. This is not a function of how old it is.

Unix is from the early 1970s and we still find it useful and we still
maintain and improve it.

Better watch out, or the doctors will say that your body is too old
to spend their time fixing.