FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: hardware list

[Karl vom Dorff <karl@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with all of this, and it probably should be an automated  
process...
Consider Mandriva's hardware database:

http://www.mandriva.com/hardware/tests?id=976847

That's pretty pathetic, even Haikuware's hardware database goes above  
and beyond what a large Linux distro offers.
Unfortunately I can't help with coding software that would do the  
things some people mention in the thread, and I guess the database I  
have (that depends on users to fill in information) will have to  
suffice until there's a better option.
I will add a mandatory field for what version of Haiku the hardware  
was tested on.
I'm glad it stirred up a good discussion and collected some ideas.




On 6-Jun-07, at 6:44 AM, Stephan Assmus wrote:

> Hi,
>
> let's please approach this from the user's perspective. As a user  
> of such a
> database, I can imagine the following situations, in which I'd like to
> receive help from it:
>
> 1) I want to buy/build a new PC, I want to know what parts/machines  
> are
> best supported by Haiku.
>
> 2) I already know a particular device (which I could buy), I want  
> to know
> how well it is supported.
>
> 3) I want to add a particular function to my PC (for example,  
> watching TV),
> and I want to know which device best supports this.
>
> 4) I have a fresh install of Haiku, and want it to download/install  
> any
> additional drivers, which did for some reason not come with the  
> distro.
> 5) ... anything else?
>
>
>
> The database needs to address some inherent problems:
>
> A) Information can get outdated! A new release of Haiku, with changed
> drivers, might now be broken for some devices which previously  
> worked, but
> which the developers could not test.
>
> B) Information can get outdated! A device previously reported as "not
> working" works with a new distro of Haiku.
>
>
> A) and B) are really the same problem. They boil down to the fact,  
> that
> already entered devices need to be validated from time to time  
> (like when a
> new release or driver(!) becomes available). So the people having  
> entered
> the information need to be requested to confirm their entries,  
> preferably
> in an automated way. These people need to be able to opt out of  
> receiving
> such requests, either they might not care anymore, or they don't  
> own the
> device anymore.
>
>
> The design of the database should take all of this into account,  
> and of
> course the *interface* should reflect the use cases above.
>
>
> Best regards,
> -Stephan