VanLUG Email Archive
I remember running into this attitude in the Linux community -- that almost
all 386 or better machines with enough RAM will run Linux -- back when I
bought my own Linux hardware, about 18 months ago. Then it was in e-mail,
with people who'd been giving advice in the newsgroups; now it's with
people I meet face to face.
Look sometime at the complaints in comp.os.linux.hardware. Here's a
typical recent piece of advice to a new buyer:
look at the hardware howto and build it yourself, or specify
every component. BEware of cheap bundles, eg. motherboard with
built in graphics and sound. These probably wont be supported
Go for S3 in graphics.
The newbies -- the people most likely to be coming to an InstallFest -- are
likely to be frightened by this. They'd rather have a collection of parts
that's assured to work together, by some big name. But, as I recall,
machines by Compac, IBM (Aptiva), or Dell are NOT likely to work with
Linux.
Also, the most recent graphic cards were not yet supported when I was
buying, and this is probably true again now. (We have Matrox Millenium and
Mystique cards, which we bought just after they became supported. I doubt
that these particular cards are even on the market now.) That's a problem
at the high end; there are also problems at the low end. E.g., when I
buying, the least expensive -- and most popular -- Ethernet and SCSI cards
would not work with Linux. Parts that had worked in the recent past would
no longer -- because of new minor changes. The new cards would still work
with MS Windows, but not with Linux.
I had a hard time getting a BusLogic card. In fact, I was at first told by
my supplier that only Adaptec cards would be available in the Vancouver
area. Adaptec had just bought out several -- cheaper -- competitiors, and
had begun selling their cards under its own brand name, and even using its
own part numbers (with misleading, slight, modifications). There were
many complaints about the situation in the newsgroups. Adaptec was not
being helpful.
The ethernet card that had worked on my supplier's own Linux machine would
not (in a slightly modified later version) work on mine.
Does anyone know if what's currently being sold by the UBC Bookstore will
run Linux? ( ???? :)
It can be a chore and a struggle, to carry your new hardware to the SUB.
If we have a high failure rate, and an angry mob on our hands, we may do
the reputation of Linux more harm than good.
I'd say the answer is simple: we should give out warnings in our
advertisements -- -- -- but, but, but I don't see any quick way to warn
people about the specific machines that will run MS Windows but not Linux.
I've just looked at the current Hardware HOWTO. There are longer lists of
supported equipment -- but very little is said about what is NOT supported.
In particular, I found no warnings about equipment that is not YET
supported, or big companies like Compac, IBM or Dell. (There's an appeal
from a Compac user in the September Linux Journal (p.6) -- but no reply.)
Art Stone