Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 23rd Sep 2007 13:42 UTC
Linux users want two things for their hardware: drivers; and easy access to those drivers. The first is finally happening; and now, thanks to a Dell Linux project called DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support), the other is on its way. Dell and Linux distributors have been working on DKMS for about five years now. Its purpose is to create a framework where kernel-dependent module source can reside, so that it is very easy to rebuild modules. In turn, this enables Linux distributors and driver developers to create driver drops without having to wait for new kernel releases. For users, all this makes it easier to get up-to-the-minute drivers without hand compiling device drivers.
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Member since:
2006-06-21
Oh, lay off the big words. "Most" companies? You jest. What happened with the myriad of software drivers that are only available for Windows and make their corresponding piece of hardware a brick on Linux? Why do we have to keep reverse engineering and guessing so much stuff?
So who's fault is that? Why don't they put their code in the main kernel? So when I get my new kernel their stuff is already in there. Problem solved.
Let's face it, this whole DKMS thing is not a solution to any real technical problem, it's just a way to circumvent the main issue: companies, put out your driver code or piss off.
My preferred way to get drivers on Linux is via the Linux kernel. I sleep better at night knowing it's been reviewed by the Linux devs, that's nothing evil in it, that it work well with the rest of the kernel, that it's going to be maintained for as long as there's a maintainer. Not to mention the added benefits of free software, as bestowed upon me by GPL.
If companies don't like this way of doing things, tough luck. I won't buy their hardware if it doesn't work on Linux, obviously. They can do what NVidia is doing and if the driver they put out that way is working well with ANY kernel I use and if I can be bothered to jump through some hoops to get it installed, I'll do it. Depends on how great their hardware is, my current mood and so on.
But do NOT try to institutionalize this way of doing things and pass it off as a good thing for Linux users. There's one way of doing drivers right on Linux and this is not it.