On Mon, Sep 10, 2001 at 07:21:46AM +0800, Jaypee B Molina wrote:
> o i see.... so just for my information, please correct me if i'm
> wrong.... linux doesn't need drivers for every devices... i mean, for
> example, the monitor... (based from what i have seen in the setup
> for redhat 7.1) linux just needs the horizontal and vertical sync,
> and presto!!!!???? no drivers needed for every brand and model of
> monitor??? and for other devices such as printer, it doesn't need a
> driver for a specific brand and model... all it needs is the pins
> and resolution???? and for the modem, in case i decided to buy a new
> external modem, it's literally plug&play???? at ganito rin sa iba
> pang devices???? is that how powerful linux is???? if so, talagang
> di na uso ang mga drivers ngayon!!!!! salamat naman.... thanks for
> the info, and thanks to linux!!!!!! this is really a very good
> o.s.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and super COOL too....... tuloy, patagal
> ng patagal, lalo kong nagugustuhan ang linux!!!!! =)
>
Unfortunately, the reality is never that neat. Hardware drivers are
still needed in Linux of course, but the model for the distribution and
dissemination of driver software is totally different from the way it
works in Windows. In Windows, most non-standard hardware has a driver
which is provided by the manufacturer in the form of driver disks, and
it is the manufacturer that has responsibility for ensuring that their
software works with Windows. However, what generally happens in the
Linux world is that the Linux community winds up developing and
maintaining most if not all of the drivers, because 99% of hardware
manufacturers can't be bothered, are totally unaware that Linux exists
(yes, there still ARE companies of this kind!), or the GPL licensing
conditions for Linux totally violate their company's policy. If we're
lucky, the manufacturer is friendly enough to provide technical
specifications that allow the Linux kernel people to write a driver.
If we're not so lucky, the company plays hardball and refuses to give
the specs without an NDA, which means a driver can't be developed
for Linux because the GPL expressly forbids NDA's. The only way a
driver can be developed in that case is to reverse engineer an existing
driver for some other OS, and that will only be done if the device is
important enough for people to care. This, sadly, is the case for
most of the inexpensive internal software modems you can buy; drivers
don't exist because nobody can be bothered to reverse engineer the
existing drivers (which are complicated pieces of software).
The same principle is generally true for the video drivers used by
XFree86, printer drivers used by GhostScript, and scanner drivers used
by SANE, among other things. The community develops and has
responsibility for maintenance of the driver software, because most
manufacturers don't really care about what they perceive to be a niche
OS like Linux.
As for external modems, like I said, they are the exception more than
the rule. External modems are built around an ubiquitous standard
that's been around for more than 30 years, RS-232. Note that you won't
need any third-party drivers to use external modems under Windows
either. You really can plug in external modems into a box and get
them working more quickly than any other device. The generic serial
driver, which is usually installed by default anyhow, will be enough.
--
Rafael R. Sevilla <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> +63(2) 8177746 ext. 8311
Programmer, InterdotNet Philippines +63(917) 4458925
http://dido.engr.internet.org.ph/ OpenPGP Key ID: 0x5CDA17D8
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