I like the idea of h-node. What I don't like is how people are using it as
the be all for purchasing hardware. Just because something works doesn't mean
it works well or has chipset/manufacturer that supports it (and especially
properly).
For example it makes a lot more sense to go with an Atheros wireless PCIe
chipset for instance over the equivalent Broadcom chipset.
While both are freedom friendly Broadcom has not put forth the same level of
support for free software. Until recently Braodcom didn't even offer a
driver, documentation, or any cooperation at all on GNU/Linux.
The same is true for many other types of product. HP for instance does an
excelent job providing documentation. While this documentation is difficult
to read for most GNU/Linux users it's at least available. It can be utilized
to make educated decisions about which printers to buy. They go beyond just
saying it works/doesn't work though. They write, release, and support the
driver. In comparison most other manufacturers end up with GNU/Linux support
purely because of standards compliance on higher end models. In many/most
instances the lower end models from other manufacturers (those without
standards compliance) are left with no driver at all for GNU/Linux or a
poorly written non-free driver. This driver generally doesn't work across
distributions or versions.
These are just two examples. There are many others (NVIDIA, etc).
I think the problem is that the actual use of this information and the
goal/point of the project are not the same.
Clear information on the issues with various companies/chipsets/etc I think
would help fix this problem.
