[linux-audio-user] Companies Refusing to Release/Permit Linux Drivers

Jan Depner eviltwin69 at cableone.net
Sun Feb 26 02:21:47 EST 2006


On Sat, 2006-02-25 at 19:39 -0500, Lee Revell wrote:
> On Sat, 2006-02-25 at 14:49 -0800, Maluvia wrote:
> > I just cannot think of any other reason why hardware manufacturers
> > would want to lock their product into a single OS.
> 
> (with apologies to the writer of "Fight Club")
> 
> Let A be the estimated profit per Linux sale, B the size of the Linux
> market and C the potential cost if the competition uses the published
> specs to copy their device.  If A times B is less than C, there will not
> be a Linux driver.
> 
> The only thing these vendors understand is money - if they don't support
> Linux, don't buy their gear.  One big client's insistence (the Weather
> channel) was enough to get ATI to release open drivers for one of their
> lines of 3D cards.  We just need to get Linux heads into positions of
> power like that...
> 

    Lee, do you have a link for a story on that Weather Channel thing?
I'd sure like to know more about that.

-- 
Jan 'Evil Twin' Depner
The Fuzzy Dice
http://myweb.cableone.net/eviltwin69/fuzzy.html


"As we enjoy great advantages from the invention of others, we should be 
glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and 
this we should do freely and generously."

Benjamin Franklin, on declining patents offered by the governor of 
Pennsylvania for his "Pennsylvania Fireplace", c. 1744




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