>> I recently pushed a new (alpha quality) backend for the
>> media:/ kioslave which uses udev/pmount and therefore does not rely on
>> HAL.  I encourage developers here to try it out!
>>
>> Please report failures to this list, not to the bugtracker,
>> as it has not been tested much beyond mounting simple flash drives.
>> Encryption support is buggy, but repairing it is my next task.
>>
>> Rhis will NOT be made default for R14.0 due to the vast
>> array of hardware that it still needs to be tested on, but if your
>> distribution no longer works with HAL it may be better than nothing even
>> in this
>> alpha form.
>>
>> To enable it, pass the -DWITH_TDEHWLIB="on" option to
>> tdebase CMake.
>>
>> Enjoy!
>
> Thanks for your hard work Tim. I know this is a big move and much needed.
>
> Do you have a test plan to help us begin testing? Not to test the
> compiling but to test usability.
>
> For systems that don't have hal the test probably is straightforward:
> Initiate device changes and verify the device icons and popup dialog
> appears.
>
> What about those systems still supporting and installing hal? Do we
> temporarily disable the service? How does disabling hal interact with
> udev?

udev is always active.  Compiling tdebase with the option I provided
disables all media:/ kioslave ties to HAL, so no extra measures need to be
taken to test the new backend.

> If we temporarily disable hal for testing, device recognition should work
> in TDE, but won't work outside that environment because no hal replacement
> mechanism yet exists. Does that affect testing in any manner?
>
> If WITH_TDEHWLIB=ON, does that interfere with the hal/udev or work with
> those services?

It works with udev, but disables the ability for the media:/ kioslave to
use HAL.

> Hence, the question about a test plan. A test plan will help us test
> methodically.

Sorry, I don't really have one--perhaps as the new backend approaches beta
quality I can draft one up.  If I forget feel free to remind me. :-)

Tim