Re: [linux-audio-dev] Re: Behringer

On Wed, 2004-12-01 at 04:17 +0100, Marek Peteraj wrote: That is a perfectly valid point. But those are all arguments for why open source drivers are better than binary only (which I don't disagree with). They do not really make a case for whether Linux should allow binary drivers in the first place. Some kernel developers disagree with Linus' policy. I happen to agree with it. Anyway I am not sure how much more can be said, the "should we allow binary drivers" argument has been rehashed many times and it's something we have to agree to disagree on. You are free to not buy it. If I choose to buy an Nvidia card I know that I will have to use a binary driver but that I can probably use a recent kernel and it will work. If I choose to buy some other random hardware with a binary driver that only runs on RH9 or something then that is also my choice. This issue affects more than just drivers BTW. If you want to run Oracle on linux you can't expect to just use any distro and expect the binaries to work - your Oracle rep will tell you exactly which distro and kernel version you need. Does that "limit your freedom"? Hell no, you could have chosen not to run Oracle. Same way you don't have to buy a Fireface or an Nvidia card. Lee