Re: [future of drivers?] a proposal for binary drivers.

Anshuman Gholap
2006-03-08T12:00:27Z

thanks mathhais, this made huge sense to me.

I will soon going to get a laptop ( centrino duo models are looking
great, but kindof out_of_my budget). I will see the vendors who dont
have native linux drivers are not in that model, as a non-developer,
this is the only thing in_my_hand.

i have no idea why did i make the horrible decision to get dlink
router and pcmcia card, where as the linksys set has a working (some
ppl complain) native driver support for its cards. wish i can turn the
clock back.

again, thank you mattias for putting it into nice prespective :)

Regards,
Anshu.
On 3/8/06, Matthias Schniedermeyer <ms@citd.de> wrote:
> Anshuman Gholap wrote:
> > well ya, I knew i was running the risk to be labelled like that, cause
> > i thought to talk of this issue, more shake is needed that just stir.
> >
> > please dont get me wrong (even though i think most of you already
> > have), i own my graditude for the livelihood i am having to
> > linux,linus and co.
>
> To get to the point of the others binary-only-discussions.
>
> You only see that you can't use a device today.
> I know that is annoying, but you have to see the "big picture":
>
> Less hostility regarding binary-only drivers would lead to a "flood" of
> binary-only-drivers which are undebuggable and unmaintanable by the kernel
> developers. IOW you would be at the mercy of the vendor of the device to
> make a compatible driver in the future.
>
> But there is a planet-size catch:
> Vendors think in money. So if you have a device that is end of line most
> vendors couldn't care less if you can't use it anymore with current systems.
> Given that the vendor is still in business after all!
>
> So instead of having a paper-weight today you will have it a few years later.
> I don't see the big difference.
>
> IOW. A "new" device may be working today, but will be a paper-weight
> later.
> Whereas an "old" device will be a paper-weight today, if the vendor only
> provided binary-only drivers "back then" when it was "new".
>
> In contrast most times you have an OSS-driver it will work "indefinetly",
> as it can be maintained over the years.
>
> It's all a shifting of who is hurt and when. In the long run the current
> model should be working better and better. Whereas binary-only drivers
> would destroy/undermine the achievements we have now.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Real Programmers consider "what you see is what you get" to be just as
> bad a concept in Text Editors as it is in women. No, the Real Programmer
> wants a "you asked for it, you got it" text editor -- complicated,
> cryptic, powerful, unforgiving, dangerous.
>
>