New Linux Look Fuels Old Debate
Linked by Eugenia Loli on Tue 18th Apr 2006 17:49 UTC
Linux Efforts to bring glitzy new graphics to Linux are fueling an old conflict: Does proprietary software belong in open-source Linux? The issue involves software modules called drivers, which plug into the kernel at the heart of the open-source operating system. Drivers let software communicate with hardware such as network adapters, hard drives and video cards.
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archiesteel
Member since:
2005-07-02

That's irrelevant to the discussion. No one's going to say that Mac OSX is "not ready for the desktop" or that it "privileges politics over ease-of-use", and yet its market share is roughly the same as that of Linux.

You're confusing issues, here.

Reply Parent Score: 2

sappyvcv Member since:
2005-07-06

Um.. how is it not relevant?

I never said catering to the majority of users WILL gain you marketshare.

Catering to the majority means a lot of things, and one issue is providing a better experience out of the box (do you want to argue that not having propietary drivers available because of principle is a better user experience?) by allowing propietary drivers. That's perfectly relevant.

I think you're the one confusing issues.

Reply Parent Score: 1

archiesteel Member since:
2005-07-02

Catering to the majority means a lot of things, and one issue is providing a better experience out of the box (do you want to argue that not having propietary drivers available because of principle is a better user experience?) by allowing propietary drivers.

Are you claiming that Windows supports proprietary drivers out of the box? Because it doesn't, and that's why your comment was not relevant.

Let me repeat this: neither Linux nor Windows support NVIDIA/ATI proprietary drivers out-of-the-box, therefore this is irrelevant as a measure of general popularity and market share.

As I said, you're confusing the issues. This isn't about popularity (because we've already established that this is irrelevant), it's about the legality/desirability of having proprietary drivers distributed with the Linux kernel, and (for a small minority) of having those drivers being used with the kernel in the first place.

Reply Parent Score: 2

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