Messages in this thread | | | From | Felix Oxley <> | Subject | Re: Linux in a binary world... a doomsday scenario | Date | Fri, 9 Dec 2005 09:49:10 +0000 |
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On 9 Dec 2005, at 05:49, Miles Bader wrote:
> > The last bit of hardware I bought, a super-cheapo NIC (for use with an > ADSL modem), prominently stated it was "linux compatible". > Morever, all > the other brands of super-cheapo NIC alongside it on the shelf did the > same thing; they all used the defacto linux logo -- the chubby > penguin -- > on the front of the box to indicate this, next to the windows logo to. > > The fine print on the side of the box said something to the effect of > "linux driver is included with OS, not in box" (whereas a floppy with > windows driver was in the box). > > I dunno, maybe there's something weird about NICs or something... > I suppose for them it's a no-brainer, since they generally know their > stuff will just work in linux, and the only cost to them is someone to > insert the logo in the box art. Also, since competition among low-end > brands like that is probably ferocious, even a little marketing > advantage > is probably worth persuing. > > [But in my experience, it's certainly not _unusual_ to see "linux > compatible" on random consumer hardware boxes these days (I live in > Tokyo > though; maybe the market's a bit different here than where you live).]
Two advantages to a certified logo program:
1. To ensure that the driver actually works, continues to work and fully supports the features of the hardware. 2. To enable PC manufactures to badge their entire systems (e.g. a Dell with a Linux Compatible sticker on the box).
The long term objective being to put those manufacturers who don't supply open source drivers at a disadvantage.
regards, Felix - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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