[wellylug] DSE & Linux

[Wood Brent]

--- Richard Hector <rhector at paradise.net.nz> wrote:
> I hope I'm not commenting on the wrong things here ...

What is a wrong thing??? :-) Nothing wrong that I can see!

While we all know there are Linux hardware compatability issues, your typical
high st retailers, which does include DSE to a large extent, base Linux
compatability claims on what their suppliers tell them.

And these may well be perfectly valid claims at the time, but Linux moves on &
there is a catch up issue with hardware support. SO IT IS OFTEN LINUX WHICH
CHANGED TO BECOME INCOMPATIBLE WITH PERFECTLY GOOD HARDWARE!!! So why blame the
retailer for this???

DSE have just come up front & said they want to support Linux more, they don't
know enough, they need to upskill their staff. 

Does anyone really think this is NOT something we should support?

Maybe we set terms/agendas so we are comfortable with the role expected of us,
but I don't think we should play ostrich & hide somewhere.

If we as individuals or a group have concerns with "Linux Compatible" vs "Linux
Contemptible" hardware, engaging in constructive dialogue with DSE to identify,
explain & try to resolve these concerns is a damn sight more productive for all
parties concerned than whining & whinging on a LUG list.

> 
> I like the fact that DSE is doing something about Linux.
> 
> However, there are very different levels of support possible.
> 
> What I've seen so far is an attempt to gather up some drivers, probably
> test them a bit, and bung them on a CD with Openoffice.org, and stick a
> penguin on the box.
> 
> This, IMHO, leads to disappointment. I have 2 cases in mind:
> 
> I bought a Terminator PC for my grandmother. I blew away Mandrake and
> installed Debian (because it's what I'm familiar with), 


You threw out the OS they had installed & tested & worked with to ensure
compatbility, put your own OS on it & now you blame them????? Sorry, I beg to
differ.

> To me, labelling such hardware as 'Linux compatible' is bogus.

The NZOSS had a project to certify hardware as Linux friendly. I don't think
it's going anywhere fast, as such certification for 2.4.2 kernels gets broken 
by 2.2.4, etc... It is NOT simple.

> 
> At the very least, I'd like to see fully open source drivers,
> preferably with assistance from the hardware manufacturer (rather than
> relying on reverse engineering);

I agree, but we are not in a position to do much about this in the global
ocean, however we do have an opportunity to do something in out little pond.

> Assuming that they can't do that for everything, they could at least
> specify what level of support a given item has, ranging from binary
> module for a specific kernel through to fully integrated. A simple
> unqualified penguin on the box is not enough.


Well, you have a suggestion for them already. Does this mean you'd appreciate
the chance to meet & discuss this with DSE representatives?



Note that I know of many "Windows Compatible" apps that only work with some
versions of Windows & on some hardware (including Microsoft software for
Windows!). It seems to be a fact of life, that if tested to work with a Linux
distro/version or a Windows platform them it gets called compatible.

You've got better chance of working through DSE for a local solution than
getting the Commerce Commission to agree that it is misleading advertising.


Spotcha!!!

  Brent