Foxconn deliberately sabotaging their BIOS to destroy Linux ACPI
ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org
ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org
...or, they're second-rate programmers who don't test their code very thoroughly.
Yes, he is going overboard by claiming "deliberate sabotage." Every hacker wants his 15 minutes of /., and he got his. However, the important overlooked fact here is about halfway down in his post:
"I've found separate DSDT tables that the BIOS hands to Linux specifically, changing it to point to the DSDT tables Vista gets fixes all Linux issues with this board."
That is, the problem isn't that they screwed up the Linux implementation of their BIOS, it's that they created different rules for Linux to follow when the Vista ones worked just fine. I still have a hard time attributing it to malice, but this is very asinine indeed.
FoxConn says in the email replies that they DONT SUPPORT Linux.
However, they have code specifically written for it.
Strange, even if it isn't deliberate sabotage.
If they're following the standard they shouldn't need to cater for different OS's - one will do.
From the sound of it they've probably copy/pasted chunks of stuff, then edited the windows stuff to make that work and forgot about the linux bits.
There's probably no malice involved here but it sounds like a massive bodge, which is totally unprofessional for a commercial product.
I've been using Linux for almost 10 years so I'm very familiar with this sort of experience and understand this guy's frustration completely. However, he is jumping to a lot of conclusions based on very little information. Before even asking for help he sent off a complaint to the FTC. Foxconn's support tried to work with him after that to fix his problem and he acted like a total jerk.
With these chicken little types of articles and forums threads being plastered all over every social news site it's no wonder a lot of hardware vendors don't want to officially support Linux. When something doesn't work people always assume the worst and they get burned for it. The more likely scenario is that many of these companies don't have enough Linux experience to ensure the same kind of quality they can with something as familiar as Windows.
I mean, sure, the guy might be a paranoid jerk. But Foxconn is hardly blameless here.
The point I was trying to make is this is about the worst way to go about solving a problem like this. Assuming, and then treating people as if they're out to get you is going to get this guy and the Linux community exactly nowhere.
What do we know? Maybe Foxconn made a genuine attempt at providing some unofficial Linux support and just screwed up. Dealing with them as if they're part of some conspiracy to destroy Linux is not only downright foolish but really hurts the cause. If all a company is going to get is grief from a bunch of rabid bloggers, who can blame them for falling back on the "we don't support linux" excuse?
The simple solution is to let them know in a polite and respectful way that you're having a problem with the hardware. They can choose to fix it or not and you can choose to keep buying their products or not.
Is this just a pissing match gone bad?
"I'll be damned if I'm going to buy a copy of Vista just to get the crashing caused by Foxconn's BIOS to stop, I am not going to be terrorized."
Isn't this whole thing the result of bad research before purchase?
About the only thing interesting about this is if the guy gets sued under DMCA for disassembling the BIOS of the motherboard.
I'm not certain what the potential anti-trust implications are.
About the DMCA, yes it sucks, and yes, it would be irrational to sue because of that, that's why it would be interesting. Anyway, not that I am hoping for that. Stupid laws should go away.
But they aren't. They're specifically testing for OS versions and handing back different (and, in this case, broken) data to "linux" software. At best, that's horribly broken and a reason to avoid Foxconn hardware. Excusing it with this "Certification(tm)" canard is just spin, and you appear to have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.
Just switch brands already. I have my own brand that I like for MBs exactly because I have never had to put up with this cheesy crap from the mfg I use. Foxconn sucks for pulling this crap, so the guy writing the article should stay away from retard brands. Next time, spend the extra $10 or whatever and get a good motherboard. That is the real lesson I see in all of this.
If you bought a desk that was rated for holding 100 pounds of stuff, and it collapsed because you put 75 pounds of monitors on it (well, they were big CRTs...). You call the company, and they refuse to honor the warranty because they don't provide CRT support, despite their desk being certified for 100 pounds of weight.
Now, if you're saying that it's ridiculous to expect a cheap manufacturer to actually conform to the specs they say they do... well, you may have a point.
Anti-trust... Why would that be anti-trust anyway? Where do monopolies come into play?
"Anyway. Accusing companies of conspiring against us when the most likely explanation is simply that they don't care is a fucking ridiculous thing to do and does nothing to get rid of the impression that Linux users are a bunch of whining childish hatemongers. Next time, try talking to someone who actually understands this stuff first?"
Thank you, Matt.
Now all you downmodders, please upmod me :-)
Seriously, you guys should not downmod just because a post disagrees with you.
It's equivalent to having a web application that states that it is W3C-standards compliant, purchasing a subscription, and then discovering that it only works in IE, not because Firefox and Safari don't work with it, but because they've added a bit of browser-detection code that turns other browsers over to Tubgirl.