The open source drivers are included, not the proprietary "wl" drivers or the firmware that the "b43" driver needs. I am quite sure you know this.

There's nothing dubious about it and I stand by my statement. If it was legal for the firmware or the proprietary drivers to be included in Linux distributions upon shipment, it would have been. New users need to understand legal issues and requirements that involve Linux.

Reported.

First, stop shouting. Secondly, the WL drivers have ZERO to do with the issue...the issue is "device firmware". The version doesn't matter, so stop trying to split hairs. Your exact words were "I don't believe firmware for Broadcom chips are ever included in the kernel due to licensing issues." Doesn't say wl or anything else. Broadcom themselves has proprietary drivers that are again, 100% legal to use/download.
https://www.broadcom.com/support/dow...Infrastructure

...and ndiswrapper is 100% legal as well:
https://wiki.debian.org/NdisWrapper

Pay close attention: the drivers are free for download, and this includes the firmware in those driver packages. The B43 firmware is free and open source, and included with most versions/distros of Linux, and have been for years. The only way anything could even be a bit illegal, is if someone tried to sell something that included it. Which the OP isn't. Again, as you've been told before, such things fall under the fair use policies of the DMCA. If you haven't read it, refrain from giving out incorrect 'legal advice' until you have.
Wrong again; it is 100% legal for a user to use the proprietary drivers, and has been for quite some time. There are even tools (like b43cutter) explicitly written to utilize this driver. It's not distributed because the vendor doesn't want to do it, since it puts them in the position of maintaining it after, and providing end user support, which they are not prepared to do.
Correct, but you don't understand any of these issues, are not a lawyer, and shouldn't act as one. If they have any doubts, they need to consult someone who does know; based on your posts, it's clear you don't. Stick to the LQ rules about staying on topic. The OP did not ask for legal advice, licensing terms, etc...they asked about getting their device to function. Firmware has been available freely (and legally) for at least 5 years now.

Feel free to report whatever you'd like. You're off topic, and giving bad and misleading advice, and should stop doing so.

I used the b43 module for years for a bcm4312. I have it still running, actually. The wl stuff is a PITA and isn't needed, imho. Any firmware I needed was in the kernel, IIRC. I checked my post, which may have misled. I said firmware was "shipped with" the kernel. Maybe I should have clarified that it wasn't compiled into the kernel, but I thought my comments on firmware's purpose made that clear. I don't think I ever used

the wl stuff was potentially faster than b43, but I never noticed any lack of speed. The bad grace with which wl is supported made me want to run away.

I appreciate ALL these responses and possible solutions and the volume of knowledge that is being presented here. I have to conclude that IF this is the kind of knowledge that is necessary for me to use Linux for my purposes (basically browse, email, pic and some video) then it would certainly not be for me.

TBOne,,,I REALLY appreciate those links for downloading the "firmware, software or whatever" it is,,,another dumb question,,,,instead of putting it on another USB, could I just add it to the USB that already has the LM on it,,,,that way it would be there every time I run LM from the USB

Short answer is "yes".
Longer answer is "yes, with a but...."

Since you're running Mint 'live' from that USB stick, you may have problems getting another Windows system to recognize the format. From there, you'd have to find the right partition (typically / or /home) to store the file. Personally, if I was you and you're running Mint live from a USB stick, I'd not use 17.1 but get the latest version which is 18.1 (18.2 is already in beta, and due to be released soon). Always start out with the latest versions of things, since bugs are fixed and new capabilities are added. This may fix your problem without doing ANYTHING.

Also, don't get hung up on Mint...there are MANY distros out there, such as Fedora, openSUSE, or Ubuntu, which support a great deal of hardware and function the same for the most part. The wifi drivers/firmware for your card are supplied with any of the distros I mentioned above, and have been for some time.

Again TBOne,,,Appreciated VERY much!!! Can I download 18.1 onto (over) the existing 17.2 that is already on the USB? Or do I need a new USB? Where would I find that download?

When moving from one major version to another, it's always best to format and do a clean install/copy. Just nuke the stick you have now to be safe. And you can find the Mint download from the Mint website; first hit in Google for "linux mint":
https://www.linuxmint.com/

OK,,,I cleaned USB, downloaded 18.1 from the link (not sure what the "mirror" list meant???). When I plugged the USB into the other computer message said could not boot from USB. Open the USB and had nothing listed??? On the computer it was downloaded with, it DOES show a list of contents?

Ok, and based on what you posted, there's nothing we can tell you. How did you create the bootable USB stick? With what program? On what kind of system, running what OS? All these things matter.

While you may be new at computers, think about how you would describe a problem/ask a question with something you are familiar with. For example, would you just tell a mechanic, "My car doesn't work, but sometimes it does!" or would you say "I hear this particular noise, when I get above a certain speed and turn left, then my car has trouble starting after that.." This is the same thing. Not meaning it in a nasty way, but just to illustrate a point, especially if you're going to post in forums about a topic which you're new to.

That aside, there are ample guides such as this, which are step-by-step, with pictures:
https://mintguide.org/tools/317-make...inux-mint.html

Putting "how to create a bootable mint 18 usb stick" into Google pulls up this along with many others.

Got it,,,I understand. Actually I created the original USB stick with (I think) UNetbootin,,,,which is why I wound up with 17.2,,,,that was the most recent option it had. Not that I'm trying to create a bootable USB with a later version,,,,I'm lost. I'm thinking I may try to find someone who will make a "stick" for me. I sincerely appreciate all the help,,,Thank you VERY much!!!