[Ham-Linux] Take ACER Off your Linux-Friendly List

[Bob McConnell]

kd4e wrote:
> Acer chooses with whom they sign contracts for sub-devices 
> like wireless
> nics.  If they had insisted on nics with Linux drivers they 
> would have
> received them.  Other companies have.  I already own 
> Linux-friendly
> b/g/n devices, so it is nothing bleeding-edge to do so.
> 
> There are drivers out there for Atheros b/g/n nics but I 
> don't have the
> time to chase them down and fuss with Alpha drivers - this 
> laptop was
> to be a productivity tool - right now it's a defective piece 
> of hardware.
> 
> Since I told the salesman it was for Linux and was not 
> warned it was
> non-Linux compatible they will get it back.
> 
> Manufactures need to stop wasting the time of customers and 
> give
> us what we want - in this economy customers are getting 
> harder to
> find - and Linux use is growing like crazy.

It is more likely that Acer, and other hardware manufacturers, have been 
strong armed by Microsoft to do anything they can think of to insure 
Linux will not work well with their hardware, in exchange for additional 
"marketing subsidies". There is actually an office of the Russian 
government similar to the EU's Competition Committee that has started an 
investigation into this very topic. Hopefully they will uncover some of 
what has been going on. Like why a new ARM based netbook was announced 
at a recent conference and immediately disappeared from the booth. The 
officers of the company tried to explain that the announcement had been 
premature and was in error. But it was painfully obvious that Microsoft 
was all over them and managed to get them to cancel the product in the 
midst of the introduction. None of Microsoft's products will run on the 
ARM processor.

For a brief summary of Microsoft's antics, see
  <http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=2005010107100653>.

Bob McConnell
N2SPP