Mathiasdm
October 15th, 2006, 04:40 PM
This morning, I decided to update my Windows drivers.
Why? I've been experiencing frequent crashes when programs load. I think this can have 3 reasons:
-drivers
-hardware
-spyware/viruses
I doubt I have any of the last (I pay attention, I'm behind a hardware firewall and I check for spyware, viruses, adware and rootkits regularly.
The hardware part is very hard to check (especially since I have a laptop).
So, I planned to update my drivers (something I've never done before, I have to admit :p ).
I started out by doing a little search on the internet, where I found a program called 'Driver Defective'. It gave me a list of all the installed drivers, and told me which one were not up-to-date.
Unfortunately, having the program install the latest drivers automatically, required the payed program version. I don't have a problem with this (they have to make money some way!), but it meant searching around on the internet.
I decided to go through the list the program gave me, and find the drivers online.
The SiS website allowed me to download the drivers I needed (the bad thing: it required Internet Explorer) easily. It listed all of them.
Strangely, one of the updates doesn't seem to work (the AGP download doesn't seem to change anything), at least that's what 'Driver Defective' says.
Then, we move on to Linux. I didn't have to update drivers manually on Linux, in most cases...
The package manager handles everything, right?
Right... Well, most of the time, that is. Sadly, I have a Broadcom wireless card... In other words, I had to use Ndiswrapper to get wireless internet running.
On top of that, I can't play any games, since the Linux drivers for my crappy integrated graphics card don't support DRI or 3D-acceleration!
Conclusion: both OS'es have their good and bad points.
Windows has the superior drivers, but requires searching around for updates (most people never update their drivers).
Linux updates the drivers automatically, but (in some cases) has inferior driver support.
On the other hand, Linux has support for more devices, and continues to have support for older devices.
Currently, I'd place both OS'es about tied on this one, though gamers will surely disagree ;) Once manufacturers support Linux more, Linux definitely will get the edge here.
Why? I've been experiencing frequent crashes when programs load. I think this can have 3 reasons:
-drivers
-hardware
-spyware/viruses
I doubt I have any of the last (I pay attention, I'm behind a hardware firewall and I check for spyware, viruses, adware and rootkits regularly.
The hardware part is very hard to check (especially since I have a laptop).
So, I planned to update my drivers (something I've never done before, I have to admit :p ).
I started out by doing a little search on the internet, where I found a program called 'Driver Defective'. It gave me a list of all the installed drivers, and told me which one were not up-to-date.
Unfortunately, having the program install the latest drivers automatically, required the payed program version. I don't have a problem with this (they have to make money some way!), but it meant searching around on the internet.
I decided to go through the list the program gave me, and find the drivers online.
The SiS website allowed me to download the drivers I needed (the bad thing: it required Internet Explorer) easily. It listed all of them.
Strangely, one of the updates doesn't seem to work (the AGP download doesn't seem to change anything), at least that's what 'Driver Defective' says.
Then, we move on to Linux. I didn't have to update drivers manually on Linux, in most cases...
The package manager handles everything, right?
Right... Well, most of the time, that is. Sadly, I have a Broadcom wireless card... In other words, I had to use Ndiswrapper to get wireless internet running.
On top of that, I can't play any games, since the Linux drivers for my crappy integrated graphics card don't support DRI or 3D-acceleration!
Conclusion: both OS'es have their good and bad points.
Windows has the superior drivers, but requires searching around for updates (most people never update their drivers).
Linux updates the drivers automatically, but (in some cases) has inferior driver support.
On the other hand, Linux has support for more devices, and continues to have support for older devices.
Currently, I'd place both OS'es about tied on this one, though gamers will surely disagree ;) Once manufacturers support Linux more, Linux definitely will get the edge here.