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Hardware

3Com to Develop for Linux 36

The Dodger sent us a link to a story at Silicon.com that tells us that 3com will bow to user demands, and officially begin supporting linux (requires free login to read) after surveying delagates at a 3com User Group Conference and learning that over 50% of them were planning to use Linux.
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3Com to Develop for Linux

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  • Ispell has a grammar checker in it? That's news to me... I don't think ispell would pick out "boy" as being incorrect.

    --
  • They (3Com) should be on their knees begging Donald Becker to come work for them.

    My guess is they'll take his code, post it on their website, & pat themselves on the back for "supporting" Linux.

  • Posted by The Mongolian Barbecue:

    let's hope they don't do something stupid like release binary only drivers...
  • I have Cable service that will only use a 3Com VSP cable modem. This cable modem only supports windows. I have been calling and sending e-mail to these jokers for over 4 months now. May I will be able to use my Cable modem with Linux. Or maybe I'll just wait till I can get DSL. Untill then I will have to use My ISDN for my Linux computer.
  • Guys, guys, guys... PlEEEEZZZ use ispell or something.

    -- adr
  • I'd expect more drivers and less PalmPilot software... but maybe we'll see some nice SNMP management software for 3Com hubs.
  • Things I'd like to see on the pilot:

    * Emacs


    You must have a pretty big Pilot...
  • we've got that already.
    login as 'cypherpunk' with password 'cypherpunk'

    try doing so at Amtrak. It's mildly amusing.

    n.b. that you may still require cookies to be running, e.g. at the new york times.

  • ... of the Butler Group repeating the FUD from a while back. The FUD is getting thick folks, very thick. It looks like DH Brown and Butler are outdoing even Gartner these days. I wonder how much Micros~1 is paying them. If you missed it, it's here [silicon.com]. Unfortunately, you'll probaby need Real Player G2 to look at it.

    Noteable quotes:

    • "Linux has no value as a technology in its own right"
    • "Linux came about because of a need for an alternative to windows"
    • "Linux is incoherent"
  • Well, it looks to me like there already is some support for 3com devices in the kernel... i can easily configure and use my 3com pcmcia modem/network card combo on my laptop. What is this new "official" support all about?
  • Maybe now Linux will get decent 3c905b drivers, since that card seems to have a few quirks...
  • So do you think all this FUD will stop the
    Free Software community from ever releasing a
    complete, working unix-like OS with applications
    and network infrastructure?

    Do you think that the FUD will prevent widespread
    acceptance of such a system?

    We have really needed a system like that for
    a long time. Maybe someone in Europe (even a student, perhaps?) could work on something like this.

    If it were freely distributed with a source license requiring redistribution of modified
    source, maybe it would catch on despite the
    efforts of commercial interests to squash it.

    Alas, nobody will ever do anything like that so
    I guess we're stuck with Microsoft and commercial
    Unix. *sigh*
  • does this mean that 3com will actually port drivers to linux for its line of USR WinModems? maybe? ohwell, this is great. now all we need is Adaptec to start porting generic drivers and Hewlett Packard getting some good WinPrinter support... sigh...


  • 3Com don't exactly ignore Linux [3com.com] at the moment, but it will be nice if they confirm this story with a press release.

    Also on that site is an interview with Martin Butler (a well-known UK Linux basher/FUD-flinger/agent of influence for M$) entitled Lambasting Linux [silicon.com]. I've got to admit that I'm actually beginning to look forward to this guy's comments - he's continually predicting Bad Things for Linux and of all the things he's said over the last year, the exact opposite has happened. Keep up the good work, Butler! :-)


    Dodger

  • Excuse me while I yawn. I've been using Don Becker's driver for their PCMCIA network card for over a year now. I really can't give much credit to a company who has been dragging their heels for so long. 3com is simply jumping on the bandwagon. Everyone and his mother is announcing Linux support, and they don't want to be left behind.

    I really feel almost insulted when any company that has been giving me the finger for so long now turns around, announces that they'll "support" Linux (whatever that means), and expect people to pat them on the back.

  • by mrsam ( 12205 )

    According README.NVIDIA XFree86 3.3.3.1, it includes a brand new driver for Nvidia's Riva TNT chipset, contributed by @nvidia.com

    The driver does not take advantage of hardware acceleration, but actual code from @nvidia.com is a good sign.

  • There were 2 models of the VSP -- there's the plain-vanilla VSP and the VSP+ for people who have run out of ISA ports and need to sacrifice their modem to install the cable adapter.

    The VSP uses your normal analog modem you already have (since it needs the modem for the uplink and cable TV line for downlink); the VSP+ has a builtin winmodem which it uses for the uplink.
  • My Pipeline service from Charter Communications in St. Louis MO is with this stupid VSP cablemodem... I've been stuck using Windows just because it's the only way I can get online.

    Cable co. doesn't have external ethernet-based modems and won't have any until at least June 2000 when they upgrade to 2-way cable... 3Com better come through with a Linux driver or else I'll be first in line for ADSL when it comes to my neighborhood in a few months.

  • Too bad dhcpcd doesn't work with my 3c905TX 10/100 card in Linux, although it works perfectly fine in Windoze. Maybe this is a 3c59x "Vortex/Boomerang" driver issue in linux, or something dumb I'm doing, but either way I'd like some official support from 3Com to help me on my way. I paid money for their net card, which coincidentally puts a shitload of cpu strain on your computer at high packet transfer rates.
  • Anyone know exactly what they mean by supporting Linux?

    Will they be officially sanctioning PalmPilot connectivity and support apps for Linux? Will there be more?

    If such a large customer base is using Linux, do they plan to cash in on this by offering other Linux based products?

    Does 3Com plan to support Linux on their net cards, hubs, routers, and other devices?

    Anyone with a clue? Sorry =)

    AS
  • I doubt they'll support the internal VSP cable modem as they (stupidly?) included a 56k *win*modem on that board... Ugh. But, of course, that assumes they don't come up with some way of actually using the winmodem under Linux.

  • I realize that the spread of GNU/Linux has been exponential in the last year or two. I know things like this sometimes hit companies by surprise.

    However, it took 50% of their customers using/considering a platform to get them to develop for that platform? Given that it will take a while to actually write the software -- don't you think they waited a little late? I would think development would have at least been considered at the "20% and climbing fast" mark.

    This is not a bash (or even a csh) on 3Com -- I suspect they may have been surprised by the numbers. It's meant more as a wake-up call to other developers "considering" the GNU/Linux platform. If you waiting for the marketing studies, be advised that your competition may not wait.
  • You also have to be able to use three of those stylus-thingies at the same time to hold down the control keys. It's kind of like using chopsticks. :P
  • So... if 3 Com start to officially support Linux, maybe other like nVidia (we want OpenGL drivers!) and Creatives Labs (we want full SBLive! drivers!) will follow and officially support Linux....

    I hope so....!!

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

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