[NTLUG:Discuss] Supported Hardware

[Terry]

I agree 100% [it's good advice]...
>From article, "How to Make Linux Perfect for the Desktop" in this
month's issue of TUX Magazine ( http://www.tuxmagazine.com/ ):

"... the most common complaint
about Linux is lack of driver support for
the most recently released products. One
of the most frequently asked questions we
see on Linux Web sites and forums everywhere
goes like this: "How do I get my
[this model of printer, camera, whatever]
working?" Sometimes there are solutions.
Sometimes there are not. When the solutions
exist, they often involve operations
that no average user would or should
ever have to perform.
THE ANSWER
There are two solutions to this problem,
and I strongly suggest you use both:
1. If you are about to buy any new
device, find out which brands and
models are supported in Linux, and
choose from among those models.
2. This is far more important. If there
was a brand and model you would
have preferred to buy, complain.
Loudly, and repeatedly. Call and
write Visioneer, Hewlett-Packard,
Canon, Samsung or whomever, and
complain that you can't use their
product with Linux.
Call and write the manufacturer of the
product you really wanted. Tell them that
you didn't buy it because it doesn't work
with Linux. More important, tell them
which product you bought instead,
because it did work with Linux. If you
already bought something that doesn't
work with Linux, call and write the manufacture
and tell them that you're returning
their product and exchanging it for a
competitor's product that DOES work
with Linux.
The complaint approach will work only
if everyone takes my advice. One call
from a disgruntled would-be customer
means nothing to a company. So they lost
one customer. So what? On the other
hand, thousands of calls get results.
That's called demand."



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