“As Linux continues its apparently unstoppable march over the
server and desktop market, more and more people are writing to PC
Plus asking why we don’t try hardware out on Linux for
compatibility checks. Questions like these make sense–after all,
with so many users weighing the pros and cons of ditching Windows
in favour of Linux, they want to know how good Linux hardware
support is, and particularly for cutting-edge kit. Unfortunately,
in practice, providing a simple ‘yes or no’ answer is rather harder
than it may initially appear–which is why it’s a rare product that
finds Linux support specifically tested in the review process.“As a magazine, we pride ourselves on being rather higher-end
than the overwhelming majority of other magazines on the shelves.
As it stands at the moment, the vast majority of you are Windows
users rather than full-time Linuxers, and this is likely to be the
case for a considerable time. As a result, it’s important for us to
focus primarily on what a package is offering to its target
market–almost every piece of equipment out there is designed and
built first and foremost for the Windows platform, and it’s often
impossible to get even basic tech support for Linux related
problems…”