After much contemplation, I think I have finally settled on my stance with regard to the Linux desktop. My opinion is derived from reading all about how Linux is going to “go mainstream” and how they are “just as usable” as other mainstream operating systems.

The simple fact will come down to being able to plug in the hardware I want to use, thus having it work - no config. And yet, this has still not really happened. Why? Because the Linux companies are working at competing against each other rather than offering worthwhile incentives for a standard Linux driver to be offered by most hardware manufacturers in a group.

Hey, open source drivers are great. But back here on planet Earth we are still being left out in the cold every time we want to plug in a new scanner or perhaps a video camera with the hope that it will simply work; or at least have a driver available. Don’t get me wrong here. The driver support for Linux has vastly improved over the years. Unfortunately it is still very hit and miss and that is sad.

So with this in mind, I would suggest that the smaller hardware companies try something that will quite literally create a niche for themselves almost immediately - offer Linux drivers. That’s right, one driver for all distros. However please forget the compiling BS. Offer a RPM or DEB package for goodness sake.

Man, if we had one wireless card manufacture and one scanner company doing this, they would have more business than they would know what to do with. Not just because they are showing pity for the Linux community mind you, rather because they just cornered a brand new market in the matter a few lines of code. Think about it.

[tags]rpm,mainstream operating systems,open source drivers,deb,linux companies[/tags]