[Tfug] 2 weeks of Hackintosh fun..

[John Gruenenfelder]

On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 08:17:25AM +0100, Claude Rubinson wrote:
>
>Just because you and others keep saying it over and over again doesn't
>make it true.  See
>http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/linux_driver_project_status-2008-04.html?seemore=y
>and scroll down to "The Linux Driver Myth."
>
>Here's the teaser and take-home message, all wrapped in one:
>
>  Back in 2006 I gave a talk at the Ottawa Linux Symposium about a
>  number of myths that are around the Linux kernel. One of them was
>  device and driver support. I stated then, and still do that:
>
>      Linux supports more different types of devices than any other
>      operating system ever has in the history of computing.
>
>  Later on, a representative from Microsoft validated this statement
>  saying that their research agreed with it, so this is not an
>  unproven statement.
>
>Claude

And yet there is still some truth to it...

Essentially, it all comes down to very new hardware versus all other
hardware.  The problem is that retail stores (and many online stores, for that
matter) sell *new* items.  When you get something new it's a crapshoot whether
there is Linux support for it or not.  Of course, this depends a lot on what
type of device you are buying since in the Linux world it all comes down to
chipset.  Two semi-recent experiences I've had:

1) I wanted to buy a webcam.  Being diligent, I researched available models to
find one that suited my needs and had good reviews.  And, certainly, it had to
be usable in Linux.  I found a great giant list of webcams supported and
thought "Great!".  Then I went to buy one.

Nothing at the store matched what I had seen, so I went online.  But all you
get online, just like a box at the store, is a product name and model.  I
found one that was *reported* to work, but, of course, when I got it I found
that the manufacturer had changed chipsets without changing the model.
Eventually I found some out-of-kernel modules to get it to work.  Huge PITA.

2) I needed a PCI wifi card for a machine.  Decent selection at the store.
Bought one that was listed as working.  Changed chipset and this time there
was no driver available (except ndiswrapper hackery).  Returned it for card
#2.  Same thing.  Returned it for card #3.  Finally, sucess.


I should make *very* clear that this is NOT the fault of Linux, but rather
manufacturers who change chipsets at the drop of a hat, don't change model
numbers, and put insufficient information on both boxes and their own
websites.  Of course, it would be nice if they'd just provide Linux drivers in
some manner.  Better specs, kernel source, a patch to an existing driver,
whatever.

But... that's not what the user sees.  The user sees this as a failing of
Linux and/or name-your-distro and becomes annoyed.  And so the myth lives on.


My sister is now an Ubuntu user and is nearing the one-year mark.  Gutsy had a
couple of annoying issues, but not to bad.  Hardy and now Intrepid are doing
great.  She's even tried a few sysadmin things herself, lately trying to get
her printer working.  She was doing well, but couldn't get it to work.  I gave
it a try and soon found that it was a WinPrinter and that this particular
model had about zero chance of being made to work in the near future.

I told her what was wrong and why.  She understands this perfectly well, but I
can read between the lines and see that it still reflects badly on
Linux/Ubuntu in her mind.

Such is the world...


-- 
--John Gruenenfelder    Systems Manager, MKS Imaging Technology, LLC.
Try Weasel Reader for PalmOS  --  http://weaselreader.org
"This is the most fun I've had without being drenched in the blood
of my enemies!"
        --Sam of Sam & Max