LXer: Kernel hackers offer to develop free Linux drivers

LXer · 02-01-2007, 05:03 PM

Published at LXer:

Frustrating hardware compatibility issues on Linux may become a thing of the past thanks to an offer by the Linux kernel development community to develop drivers for manufacturers free of charge.

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netstrider · 02-01-2007, 05:55 PM

Wow great news. Can't wait to see what comes of this and who knows what improvements we might see over the next 2-3 years and of course into the more distant future

jonnycando · 02-01-2007, 05:59 PM

What would really be ironic is if this apparent blessing were turned down by the manufacturers who have thus far failed to give us useful drivers. How much more product could they sell were we not steered away for lack of a way to use their stuff? I'm surprised some enterprising soul has not come up with good hardware that comes only with Linux drivers.

Hangdog42 · 02-02-2007, 08:05 AM

I'm actually expecting that only one or two companies will take up this offer. At least with wireless cards, where there is a HUGE amount of pain around drivers, the problem isn't that the Linux market is small, its that they've built the cards such that if they have open source drivers, their "trade secrets" are out in the open.