[Tfug] 2 weeks of Hackintosh fun..

[John Gruenenfelder]

On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 09:24:36AM -0800, Bexley Hall wrote:
>--- On Mon, 11/10/08, John Gruenenfelder <johng at as.arizona.edu> wrote:
>> 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.
>
>So, you are now paying the "Linux tax" -- having to research
>the device and the availability of support *before* heading
>out to the store.  I'm sure most cameras advertise "Windows
>compatible" right on the side of the box!  And, maybe even
>contain a CD so you can get up and running right away.
>
>Unfortunately, you don't see that "Linux compatible" proclamation
>on many products...  :<  (and, if it did, it would be followed
>by a 5 digit kernel revision, etc.)

I don't think this is a fair examination.  Personally, for almost everything
other than food and clothes, I do at least some research on a purchase.  I was
going to read about webcams before I bought anything; finding out about Linux
support is a small incremental cost to that.

There's an important difference between the Linux and Windows driver model,
too.  Linux drivers are based on supported chipsets in devices whereas most
Windows drivers are based on matching specific products/models.  In general,
this is a huge advantage for Linux.  I can purchase random product X and odds
are that it is supported already in Linux.  Not because anybody had any
foreknowledge of its release, but because its chipset is already supported.

As an example, I have an imported Playstation 2 controller -> USB adapter so I
can use the gamepad on my PC.  In Linux, all I have to do is plug it in and
I'm done.  It's a HID game controller device and that's all that is necessary.
In Windows, it is completely non-functional without a specifc driver from the
over seas manufacturer.  This is *despite* the fact that even Windows
recognizes it as a HID controller device.  Still can't use it without that
device-specific drivers, though.  And since they have no Vista 64bit driver I
won't be using it in Windows anytime soon.

But, as I said before, this sometimes doesn't work out for very new products.
Now, I plcae most of the blame on manufacturers.  If they put the chipset on
the box or online, even in tiny print, that's all I need to know and it's
hardly wasting box space.  Alternatively, if it already works in Linux you
don't need anything complex.  Something as simple as "Works with Linux kernel
2.6.26 and newer" is fine.  The manufacturer should be able to count on the
user having a distro which includes all of the modules for a given kernel.  If
they don't, they're probably expert users and won't be calling customer
support to begin with.

And, again, if the manufacturers would stop constantly changing chipsets
without changing model numbers, I'd be a lot happier.  I could then look up a
model online and see if it is supported.  As Claude said, "I don't trust
developers."  And why should I?  Ideally, they would want some sort of brand
loyalty, but as an informed customer I know that QuickCam Q300 #1 and QuickCam
Q300 #2 could have entirely different chipsets and innards and that QuickCam
Q400 could come from yet another distributor.  Without trying them
individually, I have no way of knowing if they work or what the quality might
be like.  Because of this I have no reason to even begin to believe that the
next product from the QuickCam company will be as good (or as bad) as previous
ones.


-- 
--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