Why do Open-Licensed drivers matter?
One of the more common questions to be found in open-licensed software today is why do open drivers matter? As one person asked on MepisLovers once:
I have a different question. If NVidia provide updated proprietary linux drivers free of charge in a timely manner, why is it important from a purely practical sense whether or not they provide open source ones? - Joany 02-02-08
Many of the quick shot answers that are used to position Open-Licensed software simply do not matter to the vast majority of computer users. As I explained to a friend, literally just a few days ago when talking about Vista, when I started using Linux it wasn't because I cared about user freedoms. It wasn't because I was against Microsoft. It wasn't because I cared about being able to access the source code or modify programs as I saw fit. It wasn't for the lack of a price tag on most distributions. I started using Linux because I was bored in the back of a Burger King.
The theological and emotional factors of Open-Licensed software that drive many of the concerns today are simply lost on the average computer user who has been with Microsoft Windows for as long as they can remember. There need to be tangible benefits to having Open-Licensed drivers that go beyond the limited scope of the Free Software Foundation.
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
- 1252 reads
- PDF version
More in Tux Machines
- Highlights
- Front Page
- Latest Headlines
- Archive
- Recent comments
- All-Time Popular Stories
- Hot Topics
- New Members
digiKam 7.7.0 is releasedAfter three months of active maintenance and another bug triage, the digiKam team is proud to present version 7.7.0 of its open source digital photo manager. See below the list of most important features coming with this release. |
Dilution and Misuse of the "Linux" Brand
|
Samsung, Red Hat to Work on Linux Drivers for Future TechThe metaverse is expected to uproot system design as we know it, and Samsung is one of many hardware vendors re-imagining data center infrastructure in preparation for a parallel 3D world. Samsung is working on new memory technologies that provide faster bandwidth inside hardware for data to travel between CPUs, storage and other computing resources. The company also announced it was partnering with Red Hat to ensure these technologies have Linux compatibility. |
today's howtos
|
Recent comments
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago