OT: Linux flavors...

[Jay R. Ashworth]

On Thu, Jul 08, 2004 at 05:49:41AM -0400, Fairlight wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 08, 2004 at 02:53:21AM -0400, brian at aljex.com, the prominent pundit,
> witicized:
> > 
> > Of course, but that's easier said than done there pastor Mark. :)
> 
> I generally don't have a problem, if people -listen-.  :)  This presumes
> that they research or ask in advance in the first place, of course.  
> 
> > in freebsd) and I certainly knew about better supported cards when I
> > baught it.
> 
> Well whose fault is that, then?  :)
> 
> > So much else about the machine is desirable, and unique, that in the real
> > world you just have to accept the realtek nic and the broadcom wi-fi and
> > the conexant winmodem. I mean, use a cardbus card that sticks out and
> > must be shipped/unshipped every time you pull the machine out, when there
> > is a great card with outstanding antenna built-in? Forget it!
> 
> Realtek?  I could have sworn I've seen sources that say they're quite
> possibly THE worst NICs made.  I thought the FBSD world shunned them for
> precisely that reason.
> 
> And the machine is desirable?  'PITA to admin' ne 'desirable', IMHO.

You appear to have missed, mostly cause Biran didn't say, that it's a
*LAPTOP*.  And if he has the model I think he does, then it's a
tradeoff you make; it's *nice*.  C4 2.8, 256x30GB, DVD-Combo, and a
1280x800 widescreen, 100Bt, 11g and a modem... for $599 after rebate?

C'mon, Mark.

Get all the facts before scoffing.  You'll remain behind to pray. :-)

> > Of course you should be aware of compatibility issues and at least try
> > to head them off difficulties if it's possible by simply choosing a
> > different machine at buy-time, but don't make it sound like it's just a
> > simple matter of a little forethought.
> 
> It -is- though.  You have a machine specification present.  If it's not
> compatible with what drivers you have to work with, without going with
> proprietary drivers, the solution -is- as simple as not buying it, and
> instead getting something that -does- fit reasonable standards.  How is
> that at all complicated?

It's not.  But, as noted, you didn't have all the facts.

> Pretty much HW rule #1 for me is:  "NO PROPRIETARY KERNEL DRIVERS"

And note that we're *not*.  Again: ndiswrapper is the kernel mod, and
*it is open source*.  And the NDIS driver itself isn't going anywhere
fast.

So you're insulated from kernel change problems.

Got that now?  :-)

> I'll take stability, security, and -standard- compatibility (ie., rolled-in
> and consistantly maintained drivers) over flash and glitz--any day of the
> week.  No second thoughts.  No guessing.  Not even hedging.  I've seen the
> results of turning the other way.

And I don't think either Brian *or* I has an argument with you, really.

But the fundamental premise of your argument doesn't apply here. 

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                                                jra at baylink.com
Designer                          Baylink                             RFC 2100
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	"You know: I'm a fan of photosynthesis as much as the next guy,
	but if God merely wanted us to smell the flowers, he wouldn't 
	have invented a 3GHz microprocessor and a 3D graphics board."
					-- Luke Girardi