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A proper ID makes it much easier for the consumers. By having a proper ID, the OS can search its database of drivers, and if that fails, try to download from a

A proper ID makes it much easier for the consumers. By having a proper ID, the OS can search its database of drivers, and if that fails, try to download from a source such as Windows Update. Also, a lot of this could very well be trying to avoid the pain of the Bad Old Days of pre-plug and play DOS, where you had to manually set things like interrupts and I/O ports, and hope and pray that your new device didn't conflict with something important. For example, many an oldschool game had dire warnings about not running the sound card autodetect if you had things like scsi cards, because the conflicts were near inevitable and pretty catastrophic.

nraynaud 13y ago
I always found so stupid they just don't put a bit of flash and the drivers in it. Or just an URL in the device descriptor.
- marcosdumay 13y ago
  Wow. If you tought a memory stick pretending that it's a keyboard was a serious enough problem, just wait untill somebody thinks loading random drivers from the device (or the web!) is a good idea. It will happen, that's a near certainty. Some day, somebody will think that's a good idea, and since it's easy, the scheme will get widely used.
  - nraynaud 13y ago
    If you don't trust the web or the device, where will you get the driver? Why did you plug the device in the first place?
    - comex 13y ago
      Perhaps the Linux kernel you already have installed, which presently has drivers for just about everything included and developed in a centralized, controlled fashion... Whether this is actually better probably depends on your point of view. But loading (somehow OS-neutral?) drivers from a fixed store on the device seems like a great way to be stuck with out-of-date binary blobs forever.
      - Sanddancer 13y ago
        Then again, there are cases where developers have and will release driver source out of tree so that new devices are supported on day one, or to avoid the politics of the linux kernel. Having a flash with a driver, even if it is an older one, could be a godsend for things like nics, where you can very easily end up in a catch-22 type situation.
      - nraynaud 13y ago
        That's why i proposed an URL, or an URL in the blob. Well, anything is better than the current situation. Moreover, in my current forey into USB, I discovered that kernel device drivers are completely unnecessary. And a google chrome API (or the underlying libusb) is completely good enough for proprietary devices.
  - lmz 13y ago
    Already has happened (although not automatically) for USB 3G modems[1] and HP printers[2]. [1]: http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/ http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/ [2]: http://www.hp.com/global/us/en/laserjet/hub/printer-installation.html http://www.hp.com/global/us/en/laserjet/hub/printer-installa...
  - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
    > Wow. If you tought a memory stick pretending that it's a keyboard was a serious enough problem, just wait untill somebody thinks loading random drivers from the device (or the web!) is a good idea. Oh, come now. Any competently-designed USB penetrator will have your system owned seconds after you plug it in, with no further interaction from you. Running drivers from the device poses no additional risk beyond what you've already taken.

nraynaud 13y ago

I always found so stupid they just don't put a bit of flash and the drivers in it. Or just an URL in the device descriptor.

marcosdumay 13y ago
Wow. If you tought a memory stick pretending that it's a keyboard was a serious enough problem, just wait untill somebody thinks loading random drivers from the device (or the web!) is a good idea. It will happen, that's a near certainty. Some day, somebody will think that's a good idea, and since it's easy, the scheme will get widely used.
- nraynaud 13y ago
  If you don't trust the web or the device, where will you get the driver? Why did you plug the device in the first place?
  - comex 13y ago
    Perhaps the Linux kernel you already have installed, which presently has drivers for just about everything included and developed in a centralized, controlled fashion... Whether this is actually better probably depends on your point of view. But loading (somehow OS-neutral?) drivers from a fixed store on the device seems like a great way to be stuck with out-of-date binary blobs forever.
    - Sanddancer 13y ago
      Then again, there are cases where developers have and will release driver source out of tree so that new devices are supported on day one, or to avoid the politics of the linux kernel. Having a flash with a driver, even if it is an older one, could be a godsend for things like nics, where you can very easily end up in a catch-22 type situation.
    - nraynaud 13y ago
      That's why i proposed an URL, or an URL in the blob. Well, anything is better than the current situation. Moreover, in my current forey into USB, I discovered that kernel device drivers are completely unnecessary. And a google chrome API (or the underlying libusb) is completely good enough for proprietary devices.
- lmz 13y ago
  Already has happened (although not automatically) for USB 3G modems[1] and HP printers[2]. [1]: http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/ http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/ [2]: http://www.hp.com/global/us/en/laserjet/hub/printer-installation.html http://www.hp.com/global/us/en/laserjet/hub/printer-installa...
- PhasmaFelis 13y ago
  > Wow. If you tought a memory stick pretending that it's a keyboard was a serious enough problem, just wait untill somebody thinks loading random drivers from the device (or the web!) is a good idea. Oh, come now. Any competently-designed USB penetrator will have your system owned seconds after you plug it in, with no further interaction from you. Running drivers from the device poses no additional risk beyond what you've already taken.