In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Dennis writes:
[snip]
Dennis, everything you're saying sounds exactly like the people who were
saying, five or ten years ago, that Linux would *never* make *any* difference,
because Microsoft had already won.
If there is a measurable population of people to whom open specs are
important, open specs are a competitive advantage. Over time, they are
likely to win if all else is equal... and in the long run, all else *is*
equal.
Is General Motors worried about using a card for which the drivers require
an NDA? No. Is Home Depot, who are running a lot of boxes on Linux, more
likely to standardize on a few thousand cards that their programmers assure
them are "safer for us"? Yes.
The pressure need not be overwhelming to be real. Over time, yes, I expect
to see more vendors release hardware specs, because failure to do so can cost
them *at least some* sales. The number of sales seems to be steadily going
up. It can be very small today and still be a big deal in five years.
-s
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