Hardware Advocacy or Making it easy to do the right thing.

[John McCabe-Dansted]

>
>  I've found that a lot of these places don't bother with any system integration issues.  They just sell a box with a Linux distro that kinda works.  Dig under the covers and you'll find half the hardware ill- or un-supported.
>
> I guess the main thing is if hardware is tested in parallel with software.
It could be the job of "somebody"  ran extensive tests on a particular
hardware configuration, and as a result of those tests come up with

 One or more videocards that just work (even under rigourous tests)
 One or more scanners that just work
 One or more laptops that just work
 One of more wireless PCMCIA cards that just work
  etc.

Then this list could be annotated with contact details for ordering etc. and
this information could be passed on to franchisees.  Contacting the
suppliers and asking them to warn us before they switch components would be
a plus.

Basically it would be good if all these little players could be persuaded to
join forces and share knowledge, a brand and provide some form of Ubuntu
certified hardware in addition to whatever else they provide.

 > I can't speak for Ubuntu/Canonical, but I really doubt it would be
> feasible. It would entail sourcing hardware, setting up distribution

There are a number of tiny corner shops that can source hardware to some
extent. Even if they just had a "sourcing Linux hardware for dummies"-like
guide on hand that would be a plus.


> We put up with this shit.  No company does the right thing because it's
> the right thing.  They do the right thing because they've been forced at
> gunpoint (symbolically) to do it.
>

Well if there is just one company that is doing the right thing, I think it
is more productive to reward them by making it easier for the
confused consumers to find their products, than to try to holding what
amounts to a very small gun to the heads of the other companies. Also the
consumers would have an instant benefit without having to wait for the major
players to back down and provide better Linux support.

> things. Strikes me as a dangerous distraction from the core task: making
> a Linux for humans.

Hopefully, it will be more of a distraction from binary driver flame wars :)
In any case, something that humans often try to do by hardware. These days I
find Ubuntu quite easy to use. Shopping for presents to reward my Ubuntu
machine with, on the other hand, can be quite a hassle.

-- 
John C. McCabe-Dansted
PhD Student
University of Western Australia
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