This some very important info that y'all need to consider when buying hardware.
Mickeysoft is trying to kill the hardware standards that we all have been
using for the past 10 years.
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>From: Lou.Sanders@0.october.com (Lou Sanders)
>Date: 14 Oct 96 04:54:20
>Subject: Windows Hardware...
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>
>Hello All!
>
>I copied the below information from a install readme file on Linux.
>
>The point being is how Microsoft again screws the end user in more
>ways then one. You might ask why I have such a hate for Microsoft,
>well, this is just one example. There is no reason for these tactics
>other then to lock you in their software. You need to leave this
>type of hardware on the shelves and make the manufacturers eat it.
>Pay the extra twenty bucks, you'll be far better off and free to use
>the hardware anyway and anywhere you like.
>
>
>
>--- CUT ---
>Windows-specific Hardware
>
>A disturbing trend is the proliferation of Windows modems and printers. In
>some cases these are specially designed to be operated by the Microsoft
>Windows operating system and bear the legend Made expecially for
>Windows-based computers. This is generally done by removing the embedded
>processors of the hardware and shifting the work they do over to a Windows
>driver that is run by your computer's main CPU. This strategy makes the
>hardware less expensive, but the savings are often not passed on to the user
>and this hardware may even be more expensive than equivalent devices that
>retain their embedded intellegence.
>
>You should avoid windows-specific hardware for two reasons. The first is
>that the manufacturers do not generally make the resources available to
>write a Linux driver. Generally, the hardware and software interface to the
>device is proprietary, and documentation is not available without a
>non-disclosure agreement, if it is available at all. This precludes its
>being used for free software, since free software writers disclose the
>source code of their programs. The second reason is that when devices like
>these have had their embedded processors removed, the operating system must
>perform the work of the embedded processors, often at real-time priority,
>and thus the CPU is not available to run your programs while it is driving
>these devices. Since the typical Windows user does not multi-process as
>intensively as a Linux user, the manufacturers hope that the Windows user
>simply won't notice the burden this hardware places on their CPU. However,
>any multi-processing operating system, even Windows 95 or NT, is degraded
>when peripheral manufacturers skimp on the embedded processing power of
>their hardware.
>
>You can help this situation by encouraging these manufacturers to release
>the documentation and other resources necessary for us to program their
>hardware, but the best strategy is simply to avoid this sort of hardware.
>--- CUT ---
>
> Lou Sanders
>
>
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