Linux Driver Project Status Report as of April 2008

[Benoit Donnette]

First of all, thank you for your amazing work, Greg.

Now one more element :

Quite a few USB/IEEE1394 devices are in fact supported by third party
software usually not coded as kernel drivers, and a lot of them do not
bother not being Linux-aware. The one I am most interested in is digital
cameras (DSLR, to be precise), for all the things not related to image
transfers (these use the Mass Storage protocol most of the time). Using a
DSLR controlled from a computer requires a Win machine or a Macintosh
today, and this is heavily used in studios. This is the last obstacle for
full-Linux image companies. We could then suggest a few breakthroughs
(revision control integrated in a document management system for example),
and these could make the difference.

I'd have some time to spend on it as soon as I get a camera. I'll try to
contact the Open-Source friendliest manufacturer first (Pentax, whose lens
mount is mostly open, who allows for a documented raw format : these are
fair signs of openness).

-- 
Benoît Donnette - Expert TM2L/OSSA - www.08000linux.com
LINAGORA - 27 rue de Berri - 75008 PARIS
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