SW> khim@sch57.msk.ru said:
>> Unfortunatelly this will means that manufacturers could just write UDI
>> driver (buggy -- "Unix is mandatory; we do not have enough resources
>> to make deep testing of drivers for mandatory OS") instead of
>> publishing specs ("You does not need our specs: you have our UDI
>> driver").
SW> Linux users are an increasing purchasing block. A good binary UDI interface
SW> will expose more vendors and customers to the True Way. If a vendor makes
SW> a mess of it, we can either do it ourselves (no worse off then we are now)
SW> or use the increasingly viable options of spending our money elsewhere.
Times are changing :-(( Only few years ago most PC hardware was compatible on
very low level due games -- most games was for DOS and works directly with
I/O ports and such. Now most games are for Windows95 and hardware manufacturers
are not forced to keep register compatibility anymore. Winmodems and winprinters
are just beginning! If this tendency will not be changed VERY SOON we'll live
in world where all hardware has closed interface and binary-only drivers :-((
Of course we could try to reverse-ingeener some things but this will be more
and more complex task (since hardware will be more and more unusual and more
and more things will be moved in that binary-only drivers). And most linux
users will be happy to use binary drivers -- only true geeks will try to use
Open-Source drivers exclusively. But per cent of geeks is already not so high
in Linux community and this per cent will be lessen with time. This could lead
to death of Linux -- Linux will be "next Windows": big, buggy and unstable...
SW> A clueless organization will remain so in spite of our best efforts, so we
SW> might as well be helpful to those who wish to participate and not get all
SW> huffy about the others.
This will be more and more hard to do. Consider:
1. DOS is dead (more or less). So manufactureres are not forced anymore to
keep port-level compatibitility.
2. Windows and *nix (including Linux with UDI support) will be just happy
with binary-only drivers. "True geeks" will complains but since it's not
majority of Linux users he could be ignored. Hardware is more and more complex
and since more and more functionality will be moved in binary-only drivers
it's will be hard to even reverse-engeener something.
3. M$ will pay few major manyfacturers for producing buggy drivers for
essentional parts of hardware.
4. Linux (and may be other *nix'es) will be more buggy due artifactul errors
in UDI drivers for essentional hardware.
5. Now Windows NT 6.0 is MORE stable then Linux, HP-UX, Solaris, etc.
6. Game Over.
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