Re: Linux in a binary world... a doomsday scenario

Andrew McGregor
2005-12-08T07:14:20Z

On 6/12/2005, at 3:31 AM, Brian Gerst wrote:

> Andrea Arcangeli wrote:
>>
>> When we don't buy hardware without open source drivers, we send the
>> message to the shareholders that the management is causing them a
>> loss.
>
> The problem with this statement is that Linux users are a drop in
> the bucket of sales for this hardware. Boycotting doesn't cost the
> vendors enough to make them care. And this does nothing for people
> who are converting over to Linux, and didn't buy hardware with that
> consideration in mind.

I happen to know of an orphaned wireless chip that might be revived
if we can orchestrate orders for a few thousand cards. It has a nice
Linux driver that could be open sourced very easily, as so far as I
can tell it doesn't derive from anything that wasn't BSD licensed in
the first place... and the hardware performance is exemplary. Anyone
with significant purchasing capacity reading this?

Andrew