Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Drivers are available on the CD for RHEL3_U6, RHEL4_U2, SLES9_SP3,
> | Redhat32bit, Redhat64bit, and SuSE64bit. Though these drivers can
> | be easily downloaded from the Internet as source or packages for
> | any distribution. It was nice to see ASUS bundle these Linux
> | drivers on their support CD, as they had done with products in the
> | past.
> `----
>
> http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=506&num=1
How times change.
Only two years ago, ASUS was frequently accused of institutionalised
anti-OSS bigotry. Here is one such example which specifically involves
the built-in networking hardware on an ASUS board:
http://www.mozillaquest.com/Linux04/Asus_Sucks_Story-01.html
"The ASUS K8V Se Deluxe is the motherboard with which we are having
issues. The onboard Ethernet controller is missing Vital Product Data,
VPD, which is necessary for the kernel module sk98lin to properly
configure itself. This VPD error causes the onboard Ethernet to be
non-functional without special hacks to bypass reading the VPD. This
eventually leads to system lockups and other odd behavior.
I went to the ASUS website and created a support ticket. Then I called
the ASUS tech support number where I was put on hold for about 20
minutes before someone picked up. They took my number and assured me
that the next available representative would call me. Turns out by 10
AM the next day I still hadn't received a call.
Once again I called their support number and within 3 minutes I was
connected with someone. They told me that they don't support open
source operating systems. I explained to him that this wasn't an issue
with the operating system; rather it was a result of an inability to
properly engineer their products. A short while later I received an
email showing an update to the problem ID's status saying they don't
support open source operating systems."
What is interesting is that they do not cite Linux in particular, but
continually emphasise their position against *Open Source*.
If a company as bigoted against OSS as ASUS, can so radically change
its policy in two years; that speaks volumes for the industry as a
whole.
--
K.
http://slated.org - Slated, Rated & Blogged
Fedora Core release 5 (Bordeaux) on sky, running kernel 2.6.16-1.2133_FC5
14:45:22 up 19 days, 15:02, 2 users, load average: 0.00, 0.12, 0.17
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