Everyone talks about how MAC OS X has no issues with drivers, “you just plug it in, and it works”. This is because Apple strictly control which hardware is included in the ‘closed’ system that is a Macintosh. Linux and BSD also have lists of hardware that they are known to work well with, and when you are building a server, you usually refer to this list to avoid having problems down the road. Microsoft does the same thing for Windows, they publish a HCL (Hardware Compatibility List) which lists all of the hardware that will “just work”, but everyone seems to ignore that, and expect windows to work with whatever they throw at it. It is true that most hardware manufacturers make drivers for windows, but these drivers are not always of very high quality (either beta quality because of rapid feature adoption, as is the case with high end video cards, where the customers demand the bleeding edge, or just low quality due to lack of support from the hardware manufacturer), these low quality drivers tend to cause issues with the entire OS. Microsoft’s attempt at a solution to this is the ‘LOGO’ program, where Microsoft certifies that a driver has been properly tested and should not effect the stability of the system. However, as with most Microsoft initiatives, it has been a resounding failure. Lag times in certification make it impossible for rapidly developed drivers, such as those for video cards, to get certified and meet the release tempo demanded by their customers. Buggy drivers cause system instability and other odd and unwelcome behaviors, this is just as true for vista, as it is for xp, or linux. Therefore it is important that when you are building your own computer, and even more important if you are building the computer for someone else, that you refer to the proper hardware compatibility list, to ensure fewer problems, and greater compatibility and stability. The HCL is not a guarantee, but every step you take to reducing the change of a problem, increases the value of the system to the end user.

Tags: microsoft, linux, os x, mac, freebsd, hcl, hardware, drivers