OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking [LWN.net]

OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking

Posted Jul 30, 2008 19:26 UTC (Wed) by proski (subscriber, #104)
In reply to: OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking by salimma
Parent article: OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking

I think such business practice should be outlawed. It's not like the card vendors would run out of numbers. If they sell, say, a card called G540 and decide to switch the chipset, nothing prevents them from calling the new device G541. Well, perhaps they will need to pay for new boxes and labels. But if it's not done, the customers could end up buying a worse and incompatible device based on the ratings and positive feedback for the original device.

Using revisions is not enough. The revisions are not normally listed on the box or in the listings of online retailers.

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OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking

Posted Jul 31, 2008 23:59 UTC (Thu) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link]

Yeah, it's a trademark violation by the owner of the trademark!

I suppose a company that does this will tell you the parts and fundamental design of the product are a minor part of what makes it a G540. And that the reputation of the G540 comes from the skill of the company's engineers and builders and its customer service.

OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking

Posted Aug 1, 2008 12:58 UTC (Fri) by jamesh (guest, #1159) [Link]

Of course, for most retailers and customers the two devices are identical: they both let a
Windows box connect to a wireless network.  Giving different model numbers just adds
confusion: how is the G541 better than the G540?

And if I am a retailer, having the vendor change product numbers all the time would be a pain:
how will I get rid of old G540 stock when the G541 is on the shelves too?

OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking

Posted Aug 2, 2008 5:20 UTC (Sat) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]

Customers will install different drivers, even if they don't see the difference. However, it's likely that the drivers will have different bugs.

One device is not necessarily better of worse for a particular purpose. For instance, support for 802.11a is irrelevant if no 802.11a APs are used. However, some customers (and more importantly, reviewers) may discover that a particular device is better at a particular task.

You are right, retailers may not like it. That's why so many manufacturers are doing it. That's why asking nicely is not sufficient.

The issue is orthogonal to Linux, by the way. Even if all users are going to use Windows and the vendor drivers, they are still entitled to be informed of essential changes in the product they are buying.

OLS: The state of Linux wireless networking

Posted Aug 4, 2008 13:10 UTC (Mon) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]

P.S. We don't see motherboards switching from Intel to VIA chipset without changing the model number. We don't see desktop systems switching from Intel to AMD, but keeping the model number. We don't see video cards using ATI chipset in rev1 and nVidia chipset in rev2. Retailers and end users can deal with it somehow.

It is pretty much expected that changing the main chip would make it a different model. Wireless OEMs are misusing our trust. They should not be allowed to get away with it.