BW )(: Call for Constructive Flaming

[MJ Ray]

Mike Harris <mike at slackmail.co.uk> wrote:
> ben at bristolwireless.net wrote:
> >>   "Apple controls the hardware, so there never is a problem with it."
> >>
> >> I laughed when I read that, but maybe something has changed since I
> >> was a tech worker for a Mac-using university department!  Do you
> >> really agree wholeheartedly that there's never a problem with Apple
> >> hardware?
[...]
> It's obvious to me here she is saying, Apple's hardware works because 
> they build the hardware and then they build the software to work with 
> the hardware.  This is true and in my experience OS X does indeed work 
> very well with Apple's hardware.  Compare this with Vista or Linux on 
> Apple's hardware, not quite so good.

It was obvious to me what she is saying here and I meant my response
in that light.  Not all Apple hardware was Apple compatible when I was
working there, but maybe this has changed, as I wrote!  Even then, you
still have a problem with non-Apple hardware.

I expect someone could be persuaded to produce a range of
somethingLinux hardware if the demand and other terms are there.

> >>   "there does not exist a decent usable twitter client for Linux"
> >>
> >> Erm, twitter's fairly open.  I've used both IceWeasel and jabber to
> >> update it, as well as a webtv in a hotel room.  Why use a specialised
> >> client?
>
> Erm, what's twitter?

A popular (non-free?) microblogging web application at twitter.com.

> > "It should be easy to get wireless, it should be easy to add a new 
> > printer."
> > 
> > Now, that is real rub, Linux wireless support is a bit sucky for off the 
> > shelf HW, so too for printing. This needs to be sorted out somehow. A 
> > further threat is that when inexperienced users can buy hardware with a 
> > "Works with Linux" sticker on the box which doesn't actually work (you 
> > know, binary blobs on a CD that only work on Red Hat 7 and the like).

Well, you can't trust most hardware vendors to be accurate about
system compatibility.  Sensible people don't expect the tyre companies
to be reliable about which tyres are compatible with a car - they look
in the car docs for the spec or ask the car maker. Why don't people
look at their Linux docs to see which peripherals work with it?

But Mac has this same problem, except the system seller is in the
hardware market too.  Would readers here like a Mac-like hardware
seller for Linux, or a Windows-symbol-like approval programme?

Puzzled,
-- 
MJ Ray (slef)
Webmaster for hire, statistician and online shop builder for a small
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