because literally nothing else that ships with KDE supports my machine’s 5G modem…
Why not just take that module, build it yourself, add the firmware package as well, repackage it and install it on whatever distro you like. I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but you only have to do it once… or maybe twice, depending on what is removed/added in future kernels.
You don’t have to make it a part of the kernel, it could be an external module, like the firmware. I’ve done it before, it’s not as scary at it sounds. Yes, at a certain point, it will stop to work and you’d have to recompile with a new compiler (if that doesn’t work, code changes need to be implemented), but in most cases, you don’t have to change a thing, except download the new source for the driver and build it again.
It usually works for about a year or two, then you have to rebuild, so it’s not that big of an issue.
Why not just take that module, build it yourself, add the firmware package as well, repackage it and install it on whatever distro you like. I know, it sounds like a lot of work, but you only have to do it once… or maybe twice, depending on what is removed/added in future kernels.
Because who wants to do this every time they upgrade kernels, let alone once?
You don’t have to make it a part of the kernel, it could be an external module, like the firmware. I’ve done it before, it’s not as scary at it sounds. Yes, at a certain point, it will stop to work and you’d have to recompile with a new compiler (if that doesn’t work, code changes need to be implemented), but in most cases, you don’t have to change a thing, except download the new source for the driver and build it again.
It usually works for about a year or two, then you have to rebuild, so it’s not that big of an issue.
Ain’t nobody got time for that!