Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

You owe me a lollipop.

Every integrated motherboard I've built PCs on comes with a very helpful master disc with (brace yourself) XP drivers for the integrated devices. Including ethernet.

I'll take watermelon, thanks.

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

I think the lollipop offer was only good if XP installed the driver itself, from the XP CD; the driver disk is being considered separately.

In which case, it's not surprising; Microsoft owns the market, so all hardware people make Windows drivers, and distribute them with the hardware. Linux is scarce and mildly fragmented, so many drivers come from "the community" and are distributed with (and tweaked, auto-configed, etc. to suit) the distro.

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

Hey, based on qole's wording, I still demand a lollipop!

:p

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

Thanks, this is what I meant. Pretty much any hardware that comes out....they're going to make a Windows version of the driver. It may not be on the xp install disc but there's a good chance the product will come with a setup cd for Windows, while linux is often ignored.

And btw, I'm not dissing linux. Linux is great, I'd like to convert, it's just a hassle and doesn't seem worth it from my perspective. I have everything I need on my cozy little Windows machine. Why should I convert?

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

Properly phrased, this question should read, "Why shouldn't I convert?" ;)

...and then, there are a myriad of questions and technical issues, 99.99% of which can be overcome, when moving from Windows to Linux. I've (still) got a WindowsXP box running, but I find I'm using it less and less as time goes on. Eventually, it will (also) be reformatted and set up to run Linux.

No, it's not a no-brainer, one-click install and "everything works" just like you're used to in Windows; there's some work involved in getting the machine set up. ...but you will find that nearly everything is that easy, and the few things that aren't that easy don't require too much horsepower to overcome. In the long run, you'll be free of the chains of MS, and that feeling alone is enough to urge some folks to make the change.

YMMV, IANAL, etc.

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

That's why Novell offered every manufacturer to make them drivers for free. No idea if that has any fruits though.

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

Well, I have had about 4 BSOD's in the past two weeks. :D
Of course I install alot of programs, it would be difficult to pinpoint the problem.

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

Yeah, i noticed that, but that's not so irritating as the other ones. Becoming unfriendly to users is the begininng of the end (at least where you don't have to pay to use it - i guess i'm stuck with Synergy forever :))

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

Well, it depends whether those BSODs are things you need; if not, that's why you should convert.

Re: Is this what's holding back Linux and OSS in general?
 

Sorry Mr. Texrat, Benson's right. You mis-read my challenge. XP doesn't install those drivers. After 45 minutes of installing (or longer, if you think you can wander away and let it install unattended, only to come back and discover it's asking you about your keyboard layout in the middle of the install), XP dumps you to a 800x600 desktop with most of your drivers missing. You have to put the motherboard CD into the drive, install (some of) the drivers, then reboot. Then you can install a few more of the drivers, then reboot. Sometimes you even have to do this again. Finally, you're ready to go. There's no way you can say that satisfies my initial challenge.

Ubuntu, on the other hand, drops you to a desktop with most, if not all, of your drivers installed and configured. Heck, you can use the LiveCD and it will install and configure your drivers without even touching your hard drive.

That being said, I still use Windows XP. A lot.