“In a session at the LinuxWorld show here, a panel of hardware
vendors shed some light [on why open source device drivers are
scarce]. …information on how a hardware device works may not
be free, since it can incorporate a vendor’s most precious trade
secrets.”
“One solution is to release specifications for older
technologies no longer valuable as intellectual properties. For
instance, Matrox released specifications for its 2D cards. The
result: Thousands of Linux boxes are now running Matrox chips, ‘and
the company didn’t have to write one line of code’…”
“Another option is for manufacturers to build more closed-source
drivers for Linux (ones the community cannot tweak), as multimedia
products and peripherals manufacturer Creative Labs is writing for
its 3D sound cards.”
Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.
LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.
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