diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'nl/hardware/buying-hardware.xml')
| -rw-r--r-- | nl/hardware/buying-hardware.xml | 98 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 98 deletions
diff --git a/nl/hardware/buying-hardware.xml b/nl/hardware/buying-hardware.xml deleted file mode 100644 index 367aac515..000000000 --- a/nl/hardware/buying-hardware.xml +++ /dev/null @@ -1,98 +0,0 @@ -<!-- retain these comments for translator revision tracking --> -<!-- original version: 61133 untranslated --> - - <sect1 arch="not-s390"><title>Purchasing Hardware Specifically for GNU/&arch-kernel;</title> - -<para arch="linux-any"> - -There are several vendors, who ship systems with &debian; or other -distributions of GNU/Linux -<ulink url="&url-pre-installed;">pre-installed</ulink>. You might pay more -for the privilege, but it does buy a level of peace of mind, since you can -be sure that the hardware is well-supported by GNU/Linux. - -</para><para arch="any-x86"> - -If you do have to buy a machine with Windows bundled, carefully read -the software license that comes with Windows; you may be able to -reject the license and obtain a rebate from your vendor. Searching -the Internet for <quote>windows refund</quote> may get you some useful -information to help with that. - -</para><para> - -Whether or not you are purchasing a system with &arch-kernel; bundled, or even -a used system, it is still important to check that your hardware is -supported by the &arch-kernel; kernel. Check if your hardware is listed in -the references found above. Let your salesperson (if any) know that -you're shopping for a &arch-kernel; system. Support &arch-kernel;-friendly hardware -vendors. - -</para> - - <sect2><title>Avoid Proprietary or Closed Hardware</title> -<para> - -Some hardware manufacturers simply won't tell us how to write drivers -for their hardware. Others won't allow us access to the documentation -without a non-disclosure agreement that would prevent us from -releasing the &arch-kernel; source code. - -</para><para> - -Since we haven't been granted access to the documentation on these -devices, they simply won't work under &arch-kernel;. You can help by asking -the manufacturers of such hardware to release the documentation. If -enough people ask, they will realize that the free software community -is an important market. - -</para> -</sect2> - - - <sect2 arch="any-x86"><title>Windows-specific Hardware</title> -<para> - -A disturbing trend is the proliferation of Windows-specific modems and -printers. In some cases these are specially designed to be operated by -the Microsoft Windows operating system and bear the legend <quote>WinModem</quote> -or <quote>Made especially for Windows-based computers</quote>. 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 <emphasis>not</emphasis> passed on to the -user and this hardware may even be more expensive than equivalent -devices that retain their embedded intelligence. - -</para><para> - -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 &arch-kernel; 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 it 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 <emphasis>real-time</emphasis> 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 &arch-kernel; 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 2000 or XP, suffers from degraded performance when -peripheral manufacturers skimp on the embedded processing power of -their hardware. - -</para><para> - -You can help improve 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 until it is listed as working in the -<ulink url="&url-hardware-howto;">Linux Hardware Compatibility HOWTO</ulink>. - -</para> -</sect2> - </sect1> |