RH recommends using Windows? plus a Question!

[Noah Silva [Mailing list]]

On Tue, 4 Nov 2003, Douglas Stewart wrote:

> Noah Silva [Mailing list] wrote:
> > We can't expect all of the vendors to run out tomorrow and start stamping
> > "Works in linux!" on the box, but someone could at least provide a
> > centralized resource to find out what does and doean't work out of the box
> > in linux.
>
> Linksys NICs have carried a Tux sticker for at least a couple of years now.

And so do lexmark Inkjets, which really suck to actually use in linux! ;)

> As for a listing, RedHat already does that:
> http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/

But, like mandrake's, it is woefully lacking.
For example, the "Apple Pro keyboard" (comes with current apple desktops)
works perfectly in RH, and the "special keys" are assignable if you use
ACME (except the power key).  Apple probably hasn't listed it as
certified, because.. it isn't their intended market.  Redhat hasn't
bothered because.. well how many enterprise customers with PCs would buy
PCs from Dell and then Kayboards from apple?  Much less for servers, where
people don't even use the keyboard?

This is the sort of thing only home users try.  One day I figured "Hey, if
my PowerMac running linux supports this keyboard, that means the linux
kernel supports it... so it would work on a PC running linux too.."
Truthfully, the keyboard probably isn't very special other than it's
"apple looking".

I think mandrake has the right idea, things can be listed on their HCL as
"known not to work", "known to work", "certified by mandrake", and
"certified by vendor".  But if mandrake has one, linuxprinting.org has
one, redhat has one.. ugh...  One central database would be much better.

What's more, If I were the linux vendor, I would spend some small
percentage of cash buying random toys and seeing if they work, and how
easily they can be made to work.

Immagine if redhat.com had a section, "hardware" -> "I want to buy a..."
-> "webcam".  and then it gave a listing: "These webcams are known to work
100% perfectly, out of the box in redhat 9, FC1, and RHEL 3", and a list.
Then "These web cams can be made to work, but may require additional
software installation and/or drivers".

If I were selling hardware, I can't immagine not wanting to be on that
list!

Even if linux users are only 2% of the market... do YOU want to give up 2%
of sales you coudl have had?

> > I think that attempting to support all current mac perhiperals would be a
> > good start.  the number is smaller, the products are mostly USB and
...
> > also has already been "nice" to the OSS niche, releasing sources and all.

>
> Good idea.


I liked it, but then I use a lot of mac perhiperals, on my PC, in linux ;)

 -- noah silva