Linux Drivers, Much Needed
October 3, 2007 in "Rant" by Kyle Brady [Shortened URL]Tags: Drivers, Technology, Windows
Linux drivers are apparently becoming a priority at different companies… this is a surprising, but not totally unexpected, move, especially when Adobe just launched a Linux version of Flex.
One of my only, and largest, complaints with Linux (since I run Ubuntu as my OS) is drivers. How can there be such an extensive library of drivers, with a GUI interface, for printers (”CUPS”), and yet other drivers are widely ignored? Installing wireless drivers is a huge undertaking, and many of the devices (especially embedded wireless) are just flat-out not supported.
Why is this the case? The easy answer is that despite people complaining and wanting this to change, companies have typically only released drivers for Windows and Mac OS’s. To get these drivers to work on a Linux box, you have to either run a Windows-driver emulator, or wait until someone puts together a sloppy hack to get the devices working.
But with the recent rise of Ubuntu in the OS marketshare, we are no longer being completely ignored. Adobe is rumored to be developing a Linux port of CS3. Other companies are rumored to be preparing official drivers for release. And, most importantly of all, a “wireless driver manager” is going to be integrated into the Ubuntu system…
Who says Linux isn’t user-friendly? Definitely much more than “ask me 17 times to confirm an action” Vista.
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