There is a bug in the linux kernel series 2.6.27 in the module eeepc-laptop which has the effect that the bluetooth device does not appear in /sys/devices/platform/eeepc/ (whereas /sys/devices/platform/eeepc/{wlan|camera|cardr} do exist and function). There is a fix for this bug in a kernel by array.org for Ubuntu (http://array.org/ubuntu/eeepc-laptop.html). It would be nice if a kernel hacker could exctract the fix and apply it to the Gentoo patchset, so that maybe gentoo-sources-2.6.27-r3 could provide this fix. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce:
What is the effect of this bug? I can't imagine that bluetooth doesn't work just because this file isn't present?
Bluetooth does work. I can scan, pair, etc. just fine. But /sys/devices/platform/eeepc/* allow to activate/deactivate the devices by echoing 0/1 to them. I wouldn't know what other file in the /sys subsystem would allow to do the same for bluetooth. In my specific case, this feature is needed by the eee-control[1] tool, which uses the /sys/devices/platform/eeepc/* files. (The eee-control tool is not in Portage, but I maintain an ebuild and intend to propose it for Portage inclusion, as soon as it runs smooth on Gentoo.) [1] http://www.zirona.com/misc/code/eee-control/
This is not a kernel bug, this is just a feature that isn't implemented in the kernel yet. Any userspace tool should be able to handle that "error" condition OK, unless it specifically requires the Ubuntu kernel. I would suggest that you email Adam McDaniel and ask him if he will submit the patches upstream. I checked, and they are not queued for either the 2.6.28 or 2.6.29 upstream releases at this time. He may be reluctant to send them on - the website says that the bluetooth interface doesn't always work. Once these patches do get sent upstream, please reopen this bug and we will consider adding them to gentoo-sources.
Daniel, thank you very much for taking your time and looking into this issue. I think I will have to find another solution for this.