How does an OS which supports the most hardware end up

[prizrak]

Well, lets see...when I first installed linux...the following things stopped working:

1. My keyboard
2. My Mouse
3. My Graphics Card
4. One of My DVD burners
5. My Sound Card
6. My WINtv card
7. My Wireless Card
8. My SD card reader
9. My Printer
10. My Video Camera

all of which worked 100% out of the box in windows...so I don't think its "misfact" but rather people seeing linux not work with their stuff

Well that's the thing, it's very individual. For me Ubuntu works 100% out of the box on a clean install (well 99.9% since I do have to install a third party hotkey driver) and Windows requires a couple of hours of installing drivers. That said, out of the box (here I mean clean install not a recovery CD/DVD) Ubuntu and just about any other Linux will support alot more hardware than Windows. Windows however will have a third party driver for pretty much anything you could buy making it more compatible.

It's more like a misnomer than a misfact, it's not the OS that has to support the hardware it's the hardware that has to support the OS.

In fact, I am STILL unable to run ubuntu on my main pc (though I run it on 2 others) because my wireless keyboard, which works in the frickin bios, stops working when ubuntu boots. Why should something that works in the bios stop working in ubuntu? It makes no sense...

That IS weird and I think might be a bug. Did you create a support thread for that? If you didn't I suggest you try there may be some random setting that needs tweaking.

[moffatt666]

It's different for everybody. Ubuntu supports all my hardware and peripherals out of the box with the exception of the forward and back buttons on my mouse which it interprets as right click and fast-scroll for some reason although these did work under Mandriva.

[NBCChimes]

It's different for everybody. Ubuntu supports all my hardware and peripherals out of the box with the exception of the forward and back buttons on my mouse which it interprets as right click and fast-scroll for some reason although these did work under Mandriva.

Do you need to have all peripherals connected when you initially install Ubuntu for it to recognize them, or is there a way to make Ubuntu recognize them later?

[tgalati4]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. An iPod is usually detected. An external USB drive that you put /home on would need to be plugged in all the time, otherwise Linux goes wonky. Some hardware like video cams are better supported when plugged in so that resources can be allocated. When plugged in later, those resources may not be available. The web cam may work but at slower rates because it can lock the DMA channel.

Only testing can really answer that question. If you have some unusual piece of hardware, then search the forums for tips on installing.

[user1397]

One possible solution that I can see is for a central driver repository to be maintained by a distro independent body. They could host compiled drivers for the major distributions as well as the source (for the open ones) for anyone to use. This could remedy the problem with kernel differences between some distros where hardware works on one and does not on the other. It could also help hardware manufacturers get their drivers into distros if they don't want to open them up/wait for them to get into the kernel tree.

Hmmm...I've never thought of that before...did you just think of that? or is it one of your old ideas that's been lingering for a while?

Now that I think about it, the more it makes sense. What's stopping people from making such a repo as this?

[EdThaSlayer]

They are scared of the great slumbering beast that is linux, which unlike windows, comes with batteries included(just changed a python slogan).