All of us, users of free OS like Linux or BSD, want better hardware support. We want support for both recently released new models of laptops, desktops and servers, as well as support for old hardware.
Unfortunately, there are not enough enthusiasts involved in the development and porting of drivers for Linux and BSD. Therefore, we often have to wait for support of new hardware. Sometimes hardware becomes obsolete faster than drivers appear for it. Linux has slightly better hardware support than BSD, but the situation is not ideal. According to statistics, almost 30% of users still encounter unsupported devices.
What are the benefits of anonymous telemetry, and how can it help solve these problems?
1. Focusing development efforts. With the help of telemetry, we can determine the most important (popular) hardware configurations / OS settings and concentrate the efforts of developers on them in the first place.
2. Looking into the future. With telemetry collected over several years or months, you can anticipate trends in user-preferred hardware and OS settings so that you don't make strategic mistakes in distribution of human resources.
3. There are many and we need drivers. Declare yourself as a Linux or BSD user and that there are many of us. Hardware manufacturers will not remain indifferent to a system with many users and will be more interested in creating drivers for it. In fact, no one still knows approximately how many Linux or BSD users there are on the desktop. Estimates vary significantly: from 0.5% to 5%.
4. Database of compatible hardware. Based on telemetry reports, it is easy to create a database of all tested computer configurations so that potential new users of the system can easily find compatible hardware.
5. Fun. The telemetry client can help you learn more about your computer, as well as look at the specs of similar hardware configurations submitted by other users (for example, to find ways to upgrade).
Fortunately, at the moment almost every system, be it a Linux distribution or a BSD variant, has an opt-in telemetry client available called hw-probe. With it, you can anonymously submit your hardware info directly to the monthly statistics report, publicly available (for BSD see this).
You may also be interested in projects such as Ubuntu Report, Clear Linux Telemetrics and BSDStats. History also knows famous telemetry projects such as Smolt and Linux Hardware Guide.
Thanks for your attention!
Unfortunately, there are not enough enthusiasts involved in the development and porting of drivers for Linux and BSD. Therefore, we often have to wait for support of new hardware. Sometimes hardware becomes obsolete faster than drivers appear for it. Linux has slightly better hardware support than BSD, but the situation is not ideal. According to statistics, almost 30% of users still encounter unsupported devices.
What are the benefits of anonymous telemetry, and how can it help solve these problems?
1. Focusing development efforts. With the help of telemetry, we can determine the most important (popular) hardware configurations / OS settings and concentrate the efforts of developers on them in the first place.
2. Looking into the future. With telemetry collected over several years or months, you can anticipate trends in user-preferred hardware and OS settings so that you don't make strategic mistakes in distribution of human resources.
3. There are many and we need drivers. Declare yourself as a Linux or BSD user and that there are many of us. Hardware manufacturers will not remain indifferent to a system with many users and will be more interested in creating drivers for it. In fact, no one still knows approximately how many Linux or BSD users there are on the desktop. Estimates vary significantly: from 0.5% to 5%.
4. Database of compatible hardware. Based on telemetry reports, it is easy to create a database of all tested computer configurations so that potential new users of the system can easily find compatible hardware.
5. Fun. The telemetry client can help you learn more about your computer, as well as look at the specs of similar hardware configurations submitted by other users (for example, to find ways to upgrade).
Fortunately, at the moment almost every system, be it a Linux distribution or a BSD variant, has an opt-in telemetry client available called hw-probe. With it, you can anonymously submit your hardware info directly to the monthly statistics report, publicly available (for BSD see this).
You may also be interested in projects such as Ubuntu Report, Clear Linux Telemetrics and BSDStats. History also knows famous telemetry projects such as Smolt and Linux Hardware Guide.
Thanks for your attention!
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