Has Linux Surpassed Windows in Hardware Compatibility?

Much has been written against Linux on the subject of hardware compatibility. "Linux just doesn't have drivers for my hardware," is a frequent whine. There is quickly becoming another side to the story for now Linux has drivers for hardware that Microsoft Windows has abandoned.

When Windows Vista first emerged I owned a legal-sized flatbed scanner. It had never been an inexpensive scanner, with an optional cut sheet feeder harking way back to the days of Windows 3.1. I had purchased this faithful machine secondhand in the days of Windows 98, installing a SCSI card in my faithful computer for its exclusive control. Windows XP installed the card and scanner easily but would not work with the software that came with it. I was happy--I could still use this wonderful scanner.

Then came Windows Vista. Windows Vista refused to support this device. While it installed the SCSI card, the scanner was officially "obsolete."

Until I fired up Linux that is. Ubuntu installed both the SCSI card and the scanner easily, allowing me to keep that faithful machine for even longer. I didn't even have to bother downloading anything--Ubuntu just made it work.

Fast-forward to 2010. Windows 7 is all the rage in the computer world. To keep up with technology I upgraded to a Windows 7 laptop. A laptop that does not contain an integrated modem.

I really needed that modem. I travel a lot and sometimes dial-up is the only Internet I can access. I also send the occasional fax--not enough to justify the purchase of a fax machine, but enough to warrant maintaining a method. Several years ago (you guessed it, back in the days of Windows 98) I spent around a hundred dollars on a US Robotics serial data fax modem which had served me faithfully for several operating systems and countless troubleshooting sessions as a computer repair technician.

When serial ports were phased out I purchased a Radio Shack USB to serial cable in order to continue using this modem and some other serial devices on computers no longer equipped with the venerable port. As a result I was able to continue using this modem along with my pda and multimeter in both Windows and Linux computers. Vista kicked up a fuss but eventually installed the driver for the cable thanks to the Compatibility Wizard. Newer versions of Linux continued to install the drivers for that cable automatically.

With Windows 7 came the end of support for this little Radio Shack cable. The Compatibility Wizard claims to install the program but 7 consistently refuses to install the driver. Linux? You guessed it--still works fine.

I spend hours hunting, installing and testing drivers for Windows computers. With Linux computers almost everything just works. No drivers to download, no questions to answer--it just performs automatically. Perhaps it is time to start cutting Linux some slack in the hardware department, while asking Microsoft get off their high horse and begin supporting more older hardware. There are numbers of us who have better things to do than hunt for hours for drivers for our old but perfectly functioning hardware. There are those of us who see no logic in throwing away a perfectly functional piece of hardware simply because manufacturers want to sell new products.

Until Microsoft and other manufacturers step up and continue their support for these perfectly functional devices, I will be using Linux to surf the Internet when out on the road and to send the occasional fax. Things like this cause me to wonder if I should just totally kiss Microsoft Windows goodbye.

Source:
Personal Experience