The debate continues over whether Linux, in any of its flavors, is ready for the desktop. If you’re an Average Joe (like me), the answer is probably “No.” If you’re much more technical or if your last name ends with the qualifer “Ph.D.”, the answer may be “Yes.” Why the disparity? Each constituency expects something very different from the desktop.
Certainly, the graphical user interface has made my computing life far easier. I eschew command-line instructions (ever since I was forced to give up WordPerfect in favor of Word in my law practice in the mid-1990s), and my natural inclination is to look at those features that are necessary to make the average user’s life on Linux tolerable. However, many of the most requested and most needed features — including WiFi, multimedia, proprietary drivers, document formats, and fonts — are stagnating due to legal reasons.
Let’s explore why.
(The dearth of common desktop applications on Linux is a separate issue and one not immediately related to law, unless you dive deeply into competition law. But that’s best left for another time.)
WiFi Woes
There’s no question that the lack of an open source WiFi solution causes headaches for the Linux desktop.
WiFi drivers are typically provided by chip manufacturers, such as Intel and AMD. At present, the drivers are closed source, either in whole or in significant part. Intel, for one, has expressed a willingness to find a solution for this problem, but government regulation…
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