Simplifying Linux Driver Installation

prostoalex writes "O'Reilly Network posts an update on Project Utopia that produced Hardware Abstraction Layer for Linux simplifying device changes. They also link to the Driver on Demand project on SourceForge, whose goal is to create a central database to enable Linux desktops download the drivers automatically when the user plugs in her new hardware device."

Comments

of course

[Doc Ruby]

NetBSD has long included cross-platform binary driver compatibility. Despite the much smaller (and less friendly, in my experience) developer community, NetBSD has leveraged its comprehensive platform coverage to harvest drivers for much hardware. One Linux advantage that outperformed early rivals in the "Windows alternative OS" was its open community of driver writers, filling all the nooks and crannies of the installed base of hardware out there. Combining the superior community with the superior hardware model will make Linux unbeatable at hardware support. And that's ultimately all that an OS does: support the hardware.