Coercing users is *never* a good idea

Coercing users is *never* a good idea

Posted Jun 8, 2006 21:36 UTC (Thu) by bjanz (guest, #1560)
In reply to: Coercing users is *never* a good idea by bronson
Parent article: Putting a lid on USB power

"That's right! So buy a $5.00 wall wart. Corrupted data causes farm more damage to reputation than the ability to run hardware outside of specification... doesn't it?"

You're missing the point. Someone who is running a device under MS Windows will question *and then abandon* Linux if the same device does *not* run under Linux.

If I buy a $5.00 WalMart cheap POS adapter, it'd blow up my system whether I was running MS Windows *or* Linux -- and I deserve what I get. But, if I buy a Logitech mouse or keyboard, or a SanDisk USB drive, or some other USB 2.0 "bus powered" device that is properly made and meets the USB 2.0 spec (like a Western Digital 120GB drive), and they *DON'T* work under Linux... that's a *very bad* thing.

This isn't about plugging in crap components. It's about compatibility. The only way to get new users comfortable with Linux is to provide *MORE* compability with existing devices -- not *LESS*. The way to keep "marginal" Linux users from migrating to other platforms (such as FreeBSD, or - Lord help us - Windows) is to be *BETTER* than the other platforms.

I opened my comments by saying that standards are a good thing. I'll even say that operating hardware according to standards is an even better thing. Protecting your system from unpredictable power events is an *excellent* thing.

But, a *backward* move in compatibility - "less" is NOT "more" - will only be seen as a *bad* thing.

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