Jason Self schreef:
On Dec 4, 2009, at 9:57 PM, aurele wrote:
On Fri, 2009-12-04 at 16:07 -0800, Jason Self wrote:
Recommending nonfree software is certainly not good, but maybe
it's a good idea to leave the non-free hardware detection code in
place and instead change the message to encourage the user to use
free software- loving hardware? :)
I think there's some potential here.
Hi Jason,
I think it should be a good idea to keep this and modify to
proprose the free-hardware at this place. To prove that their is
always a free solution.
-- aurele
I was thinking that the message could start the same way ("Some of
your hardware needs non-free firmware files to operate.") But end
differently, of course. This seems like a perfect opportunity to
alert/educate users as the hardware is detected, while the install is
happening, rather than afterward when they ask "why doesn't my WiFi
card work?"
They could (hopefully) be made understand that it's the manufacturer
of their WiFi card that's causing their problems by requiring
non-free software, not gNewSense. Perhaps also referring them to
http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/net/wireless/cards.html or whatever.
I don't know, sometimes I have crazy ideas but this seems like too
good an opportunity to pass on.
If you're going to present the user with this information he would have
to note it down and either abort the installation to check it with his
current OS or go through with the installation and check it with the new
OS. It's even likely that the user will just select OK without reading
the information, because he just wants to get the installation over with
and this step doesn't require action from him (like providing a user
name). If you properly want to educate the user then I think some kind
of hardware analysis tool that runs at first boot would be better suited.
However, if you want to install gNS on an old machine on which you can't
run the live CD to test the hardware then some information about which
hardware won't work could be handy. But it shouldn't be much more than a
list of devices.
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