Hi there.
> I dont see how you get from portable binary drivers to binary blobs. If you factor in my understanding of the word "blob" (which for me equals "binary (only) drivers", not "free drivers in their pre-compiled form"), then you just answered yourself. > With my suggestion you would be able to for example use the GPL drivers from Linux on FreeBSD or Solaris without recompiling them. If we also would be able to agree on standard for packages and repositories you would also be able to just install the drivers from a common repository. And that's what I agreed would be really cool about this universal driver interface (among other things). Anyway, I've been thinking about this a little more and here's the result: Got a flash drive, external hard drive, memory card reader, PostScript printer or a decent webcam embedded to your laptop (just a few examples from the top of my head)? They all work like a charm right out of the box (and they probably did long before you first decided to try some random free OS), right? That's because all these devices adhere to open standards defining how particular sort of hardware has to behave from the software perspective - both input and output is well defined. They must understand certain commands and be able to at least explain their output to the driver if it's mandatory format isn't already defined within the standard itself. That way every device in the same hardware class becomes just a different hardware implementation of the same concept with SIMPLE GENERIC DRIVERS (one driver to rule them all) and YOU GET A FLAWLESS OUT OF THE BOX SUPPORT FOR YOUR DEVICE. I think that what we really need is to put more pressure on hardware manufacturers to make them move in that direction which combined with your idea would blast all the hardware support M$ likes to brag about so much into oblivion. -- Microsoft has a majority market share https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu 4 dz, which is a direct subscriber. Status in Club Distro: Invalid Status in Computer Science Ubuntu: Invalid Status in EasyPeasy Overview: Invalid Status in Ichthux - Linux for Christians: Invalid Status in JAK LINUX: Invalid Status in The Linux OS Project: In Progress Status in The OpenOffice.org Suite: In Progress Status in Tabuntu: Invalid Status in A simple player to online TV streaming: Invalid Status in Tv-Player: New Status in Ubuntu: In Progress Status in “ubuntu-express” package in Ubuntu: Invalid Status in The Jaunty Jackalope: Invalid Status in “ubuntu-express” source package in Jaunty: Invalid Status in Baltix GNU/Linux: Invalid Status in “linux” package in Debian: In Progress Status in Fluxbuntu: The Lightweight, Productive, Agile OS: Confirmed Status in openSUSE: In Progress Status in Tilix Linux: New Bug description: Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace. This is a bug, which Ubuntu is designed to fix. Non-free software is holding back innovation in the IT industry, restricting access to IT to a small part of the world's population and limiting the ability of software developers to reach their full potential, globally. This bug is widely evident in the PC industry. Steps to repeat: 1. Visit a local PC store. What happens: 2. Observe that a majority of PCs for sale have non-free software pre-installed. 3. Observe very few PCs with Ubuntu and free software pre-installed. What should happen: 1. A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software like Ubuntu. 2. Ubuntu should be marketed in a way such that its amazing features and benefits would be apparent and known by all. 3. The system shall become more and more user friendly as time passes. _______________________________________________ Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~algeriatul Post to : [email protected] Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~algeriatul More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
