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Ask and ye shall receive Linux drivers

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland

For those companies wishing Linux would work with their widgets, core programmers are offering to write the necessary software support for free.

Greg Kroah-Hartman, a programmer at Novell, announced the Linux driver program on his blog Monday. The "Linux kernel community is offering all companies free Linux driver development...All that is needed is some kind of specification that describes how your device works, or the e-mail address of an engineer that is willing to answer questions every once in a while," he said.

In an interview, Kroah-Hartman said the program is offered by the Linux Foundation, the industry group formed by the merger earlier this month of the Open Source Development Labs and Free Standards Group. The foundation has a program under which developers can sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) so companies can share proprietary information needed to build open-source drivers.

Those who participate benefit by seeing their drivers incorporated into the main repository of Linux; being included in the products of major Linux sellers; having their drivers run on the numerous processors Linux can employ; and getting ongoing maintenance from kernel programmers.

"Now your developers will have more time to work on drivers for all of the other operating systems out there, and you can add 'supported on Linux' to your product's marketing material," Kroah-Hartman said. "This offer is in effect for all different types of devices, from USB toys to PCI video devices to high-speed networking cards. If you build it, we can get Linux drivers working for it."