Tips for buying a hardware (http://forum.mandrakesoft.com/article.php3?sid=20000902110054) I just saw a "linux buyers guide" on Duke of URL-s site, and this reminded me of one very important FAQ: Although linux hardware support has immensly improved, there are still products out there which are either completely useless for a Linux-user, have binary-only or beta-quality drivers. Winmodems, winprinters, PP scanners, some Adaptec SCSI controllers... It is a long list, and you do not even want to know it .-) So, what would be the easiest way to avoid unpleasant surprises? Well, I hope to see "Cool, it works with Linux", or even "designed for Mandrake-Linux" stickers on the hardware one day, but we are not quite there yet. In the meantime, here are some possibilities, ordered according to ammount of work you have to invest: 1) Buy from a linux-friendly store. If you buy from a dedicated linux-hardware company, or go shopping on a Linux-Mall, chances of surprises will be rather low. 2) Ask in the shop. I have been shopping for computer parts for years, and in some dedicated hardware stores this works really good. This will still not bring you very far in a warehouse, I am afraid. 3) Ask the hardware producer. This is a very nice vay of finding out if the product works with linux or not: All you have to do is find a contact e-mail, and ask "Does your graphic card XY work with Mandrake Linux 7.1?". If they do not know, don't buy. Binary-only drivers usually mean trouble too. OK, these were the "easy" solutions, but if you really want to, there are other ways too; 4) Search the mailing lists archives and other searchable archives (like this site). For Mandrake-Linux, I would start by digging in "newbie" and "expert" archives, and continue with other sources of info mentioned on our "Support" page. In particular, searching in "dejanews" is very powerfull. 5) Consult some big web-search site. Search for "Yourhardwarepiecename" + "Linux" + "support" or such... Sometimes it works really good - I use this approach all the time. 6) RTFM. A good starting point is Linux-Hardware HOWTO, There are also other ways - for instance one could ask friends, people in mailing lists, consult some "buyers guide" (Duke of URL looks qute nice to me, and he is a great fun of LM too .-), read the horoscope or whatever... However, I really think that today there are enough Linux-friendly shops out there, so if you want to save your nervs use one of the first three metods and be happy. As a side effect, linux-unfriendly shops will die out, which will make my tips completely obsolete. ;-
