On Thu, 2006-07-20 at 12:55 -0600, Phil Meyer wrote: > > > > But, my concern here is that Linux has come a long way since we all > > first started using it 10 years ago or earlier. But it still hasn't > > come far enough ahead to act like Windows (for example) that when you > > install Linux from scratch - it simply doesn't find all the > > peripherals such as scanners that Windows finds so easily? I wonder > > why after all these years. > This is a common misconception. > > I have a device. > I plug device into computer. > Does device now work? > If yes, done. > If no: > Did the manufacturer of said device provide special drivers for it? > Do I have them? > If yes, install them. > Does device now work? > If yes, done. > If no, call the manufacturer. > > This process is NOT OS dependent! It is the same process for mainframes > as it is for every computer in existence, regardless of what OS may be > on it. Except that Linux does not provide a stable API for vendor provided drivers, and distributions discourage them by refusing to include them. > Have you forgotten the days when scanners came with their own SCSI cards > and the drivers never seemed to work with WINDOWS, but all the good ones > only worked with UNIX systems like SUN, HP, and SGI? Companies that went out of their way to provide a stable and documented interface... > Times change, but the problem with device drivers is still the same. But the competition has changed. -- Les Mikesell lesmikesell@xxxxxxxxx
