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Can Open Source Save Hardware?

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the envelopes-that-need-pushing dept.

Culexus writes "Tom's Hardware has a interesting story about Open Source saving the hardware industry. Pretty good read all in all. Hopefully chip makers and vendors won't have to bend to the iron might of Microsoft any longer." Some good comments on how early-adopters and enthusiasts are being marginalized by the industry, too.

4 of 327 comments (clear)

  1. Re:If only... by Ruie · · Score: 5, Informative
    It actually is possible.


    See, for example, www.opencores.org.

  2. Re:If only... by MonMotha · · Score: 5, Informative

    Open Hardware Project
    Enjoy. Most of it's still rather raw, and most of it's based off m68k, so don't expect to run "real" linux on it (uClinux is often the objective though).

  3. Open Specs + Good Hardware = Market Winner by listen · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'll tell you what pisses off the vast majority of hardware companies:

    If a significant number of them act as their customers would like, they will only be able to compete on hardware.

    What hardware vendors *should* do is open up the specs to their hardware. If they are especially competitive, fund the development of open source drivers.

    The fact is that hardware with well defined and open specs works brilliantly in linux and the BSDs. Thats because the drivers are generally better written, usually because the drivers can share infrastructure and code from drivers from similar hardware, and these drivers are often written by the same people.

    Hardware vendors who do not open their specs or write drivers for Linux are writing themselves out of the future.

    If a driver is accepted into the mainline kernel, and has an appreciable userbase, its very unlikely that there will be a lot of tech support issues - IF the hardware isn't flaky.

    And thats what they hate. A huge amount of vendors make *really* bad hardware. If it becomes known that a bit of hardware works well in linux, more people buy it. As Linux market share increases, *this* PR ( the hardware is actually *good* and *works*) will take over from the MS crap ( the hardware company has some agreement with MS that says *nothing* about the quality of the hardware).

    I know which kind of PR I take more seriously.

  4. Um... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Don't link to Tom's Hardware anymore Slashdot. This past week they threatened to sue AMDMB.com for defamatory comments.

    http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID =243