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Couldn't agree with you more. A few months back when my previous macbook had an unfortunate meeting with some stray beer, I was in the market for a new laptop,

Couldn't agree with you more. A few months back when my previous macbook had an unfortunate meeting with some stray beer, I was in the market for a new laptop, and I couldn't even bring myself to consider anything else - it just felt painful to even think about it. There are some very nice PC laptops out there - the Dell Adamo series, the HP Envy, and the IdeaPad immediately come to mind - but they're all more expensive than a comparable Apple laptop - and they don't run my OS of choice! Sure, you can try that shady hackintosh noise, but for the most part, that puts you right back in the endless tinkering camp with the Linux on laptops crowd. Apple makes great laptops that just work, they deserve the praise they get for them. (1) Couldn't agree more here. This "manufacturers need to make open drivers" is just a bunch of whiny noise. Grownups who have things to do don't have time to worry about that crap.

robin_reala 16y ago
(1) Luckily the Linux Driver Project agrees with you, and will make the drivers for manufacturers if they ask: http://www.linuxdriverproject.org/foswiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome http://www.linuxdriverproject.org/foswiki/bin/view/Main/WebH...
mkr-hn 16y ago
People have offered to write the drivers, and even agreed to sign NDAs. What more is the Linux side expected to do?
- ericd 16y ago
  Maybe they could target a few specific machines, making sure those work perfectly, and then use those as reference machines that people can buy if they want a no-hassle experience.
- grammaton 16y ago
  No one is questioning the community's dedication in this regard. It's just that, if the manufacturer nixes the idea, for whatever reason - from the users standpoint it just doesn't matter, the software doesn't work with their hardware. When it comes to devices working there's no such thing as an A for effort.
- gamble 16y ago
  Indemnify them against lawsuits? I understand that a large part of the reason hardware manufacturers don't want open or third-party drivers is that they could be used as an excuse to troll through their product looking for potential IP violations that could fuel a patent infringement lawsuit.

robin_reala 16y ago

(1) Luckily the Linux Driver Project agrees with you, and will make the drivers for manufacturers if they ask: http://www.linuxdriverproject.org/foswiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome http://www.linuxdriverproject.org/foswiki/bin/view/Main/WebH...

mkr-hn 16y ago

People have offered to write the drivers, and even agreed to sign NDAs. What more is the Linux side expected to do?

ericd 16y ago
Maybe they could target a few specific machines, making sure those work perfectly, and then use those as reference machines that people can buy if they want a no-hassle experience.
grammaton 16y ago
No one is questioning the community's dedication in this regard. It's just that, if the manufacturer nixes the idea, for whatever reason - from the users standpoint it just doesn't matter, the software doesn't work with their hardware. When it comes to devices working there's no such thing as an A for effort.
gamble 16y ago
Indemnify them against lawsuits? I understand that a large part of the reason hardware manufacturers don't want open or third-party drivers is that they could be used as an excuse to troll through their product looking for potential IP violations that could fuel a patent infringement lawsuit.