Re: Linux headed for disaster?

Mikulas Patocka (mikulas@artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz)
Sun, 5 Dec 1999 23:38:52 +0100 (CET)

> The *reason* binary portable drivers are not implemented in Linux, is
> because Linus and Alan are wielding the power of Linux to *force*
> hardware vendors to implement Open Source device drivers. IMHO this
> is just as bad as Microsoft using their monopoly power to force
> vendors to ship Windows on their PC's.
>
> Surely true Open Source advocates would realise that companies will
> embrace Open Source for their products *if* it makes sense for them
> to do so? Eric S. Raymond has mentioned numerous times in his musing
> on Open Source software that Open Source is not suitable for every
> company and every software project. So why should vendors be *forced*
> to release information about their hardware just because Linus and
> Alan feel this is necessary in order to force Open Source on the rest
> of the world?

Do you know the pain with 'binary compatible' drivers under OS/2? The
vendors generally do not understand kernel programming very well, so the
drivers contain various bugs. If the source is closed, no one can fix
those bugs. I had to swap few versions of video and net card drivers till
I got rock stable OS/2 system. I don't want this in Linux!!!

> +---------------------------------------------------------------+
> | SciTech Software - Building Truly Plug'n'Play Software! |
> +---------------------------------------------------------------+

I tried YOUR SciTech video driver for OS/2 and it trapped just after
installation. This is what I said - closed drivers are BUGGY! If you
release the sources (and make them compilable with some free compiler, for
example EMX), someone would fix that bug.

You are going to lose this way.

Mikulas

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