Binary-only kernel modules may be banned

Binary-only kernel modules may be banned

Posted Dec 14, 2006 19:14 UTC (Thu) by emkey (guest, #144)
In reply to: Binary-only kernel modules may be banned by drag
Parent article: Binary-only kernel modules may be banned

Linux _can't_ win vs Windows in the desktop market if it needs propriatory drivers. It's just setting linux up to lose.

I've been following and using open source software for over 20 years now. I've done the same with commercial software. Based on those observations I'll tell you right now you are wrong. Dangerously wrong.

If push comes to shove then Microsoft will just pull strings in Nvidia or ATI and there goes our drivers. They will be less featurefull then Windows, be buggier, and not support the latest hardware (sound familar?)

Very doubtful. Especially given the fact that Linux makes up an increasingly large part of their bottom lines. Which is of course the point. Linux must continue to gain market share against Microsoft on the desktop. If it doesn't then odds are good we'll have very little real choice as to which operating system we run on our non server systems in twenty years.

The people pushing this agenda just don't get it. Let me spell things out clearly. Open source drivers from vendors are inevitable if Linux continues to gain market share on the desktop. Doing anything to discourage increasing market share puts in danger the long term viability of Linux as a desktop operating system and reduces the odds that the major vendors will ever release open source drivers.

It really is that simple.

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