Herbert Graf wrote: > On Thu, 2007-08-16 at 20:58 +0100, peter green wrote: > >> Herbert Graf wrote: >> >>> On Thu, 2007-08-16 at 10:29 -0400, Chris Smolinski wrote: >>> >>> >>>> I run into this with FTDI chips. They in fact added the unique serial >>>> number as a "feature". The PC I use for programming them has over a >>>> hundred COM ports so far. I am not sure when Windows will run out ;-) >>>> AFAIK you can program them with the same serial number, but in order >>>> to program them, you have to plug them in, and Windows needs to >>>> install the driver... >>>> >>>> One solution would be to write a programmer for the Mac; it doesn't >>>> install a new driver for each device. It is smart enough to realize >>>> the existing driver works OK. Hmm.. since the direct drivers are now >>>> out for the Mac, that's a possibility... I wonder if the same is >>>> true for lunix also. >>>> >>>> >>> For linux the common USB->serial converter drivers are either built >>> directly into the kernel, or dynamically loaded as a driver module on >>> bootup. There is no "driver install" step. As with some many thing on >>> Linux these days: "you plug it in, and it just works". >>> >>> Who would have thought there would be a day where installing a new >>> device in Linux would be LESS work and bother then Windows? >>> >>> >>> >> What I have generally observed is that linux supports more stuff out of >> the box than windows >> > > Absoutely true. But the point here is when stuff is supported, it just > works. Whether I plug my FTDI serial adapter into the first USB port, or > the 8th USB port, it still comes up as ttyUSB0, and there's no > "reinstalling the driver" just because I changed the USB port I used. > > It's the same with PCI devices, ANY change in hardware seems to trigger > windows into a "reinstall the drivers" mode, which invariably in my > experience results in problems ranging from just requiring a reboot, to > a complete hosing of the system. > > >> but when stuff doesn't work out of the box it is >> far more of a pain to get working in linux than in windows. >> > > As with windows, that depends on the device. > > My Samsung laser printer has no in built support in Linux. Went to the > website, downloaded the driver, ran the install executable and that was > it, the test page printed without a hitch. > > Same thing for video card drivers. The version of the Radeon driver in > Fedora I was using didn't support the ATI card I had. Went to the ATI > site, downloaded the install, ran it, it just worked. > > OTOH there have been cases where driver installs WERE a pain. the > ipw2200 driver for the wireless card in my laptop was a completely > manual compile to a kernel module that needed to be recompiled every > time I updated the kernel, very cumbersome. Using Ubuntu fixed that > since it inclues the ipw2200 driver. > > It's the same in windows though. Not every device installs "easily" in > windows. Tried to install some windows drivers for a Haupauge DVB-S card > last week. Went to the site, downloaded the win2k drivers, ran the > install, card not detected. Tried the driver on the CD, everything > seemed fine, until reboot resulted in blue screen. Tried everything I > could think of. In the end upgrading to winXP was the solution. > > Yes, if you want to use Linux, you do have to be a little more careful > of what hardware you buy. But with that done, it's FAR easier and less > cumbersome these days to get hardware working in Linux then Windows. > > Case in point, wanted a video capture card. Researched a little. Bought > a $30 PCI Haupauge card, knowing Haupauge cards are generally very well > supported in Linux. Installed the card, powered up the system, and it > worked. No software to install, it just worked. With Windows, AT THE > LEAST, I would have had to install the driver, and software, and had at > least one reboot, perhaps more, assuming everything went smoothly. > > TTYL > > I run ubuntu for my server/tv computer (mythtv rocks almost as hard as ubuntu itself ;->) I use the Haupauge DVB-T cards for the tv. The only thing i've had to do to get them working was add a line to /etc/modules there is some bug with the udev doohickey where it doesn't do it automagically. WRT hardware in windows I tried to get my dads old scanner working on his new vista laptop. The only way I managed was to install Xsane client on his laptop and plug the scanner into the server. Once I had extracted the scanner firmware from the driver disk (or rather downloaded it from somebody who had already) it all "just worked". Now "in theory" he can operate the scanner from anywhere in the world. I haven't quite worked out why one would want to do that but the possibility is there. Linux hardware support seems to be *far* better than vista, especially if the drivers are open source. I was trying to print from eagle into a new samsung printer (over the network) and it was having some issues with the samsung driver (well done for the gui installer though it would have been fine for "joe user") turns out there is an open source driver for them as well, included with ubuntu. apt-get install (whatever it was called lol) and the printer is detected, gives me 1200 DPI vs the official drivers 600 and lets me use the duplexer which the official linux one doesn't. And to make things even merrier network printing (between 2 ubuntu boxes) was even easier to setup than windows. Find me a windows product that gives you the choice between drivers made by 2 different parties. Ok they probably both have bugs, but they will be different bugs, thats good enough for me ;-P. Solving a problem with linux is like working on a Jag(insert fave brand of old car here), you might do a little more spanner twisting than a haundi but you don't feel dirty on the inside afterwards. That and the default answer to any given issue isn't "buy a new car". -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist