[nylug-talk] Site announcement: http://justlinuxhardware.com/

[Michael Bacarella]

> > The goal of the site is to develop a centralized
> > hardware compatibility
> > database that is usable, provides helpful
> > information on working any
> > gadget that talks to a PC under Linux, and when
> > appropriate, can help
> > users steer clear of TCPA/Palladium booby-trapped
> > components (which was
> > my original motivation for starting it).
> 
> Blessed is he whose motives are as pure as this. :)
>
> How can people with tight schedules help?  Should we
> just email our computers' specs?

The way we've been doing it so far is by going to every computer we
have access to, typing /sbin/lspci, and for each component that
shows up that we know is being utilized by our system:
    * Check if it's in the database already.  If it is, add a comment
        if anything atypical about getting it to work stands out
        in our minds.
    * If not, figure out what part of Linux/your distro supports it,
        such as which kernel module, what had to be enabled in the
        kernel config, etc.
    * Did we do anything out of the ordinary to get it to work?
        Apply a patch and recompile?  Download binary only drivers?
        Muck up the default config because it was wrong? etc.

Once we did that, we'd add the entry to the database.  It took
on average of 2-3 minutes per component.

Of course, most computers sold today have more than a PCI bus,
so we'd also look through the rest of /proc/bus and run cat
against anything that didn't mind being catted.

-- 
Michael Bacarella                  24/7 phone: 646 641-8662
Netgraft Corporation                   http://netgraft.com/
      "unique technologies to empower your business"

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