[driverloader] license fees

[Alexander Ellberg]

Hi Linuxant Team,

with all due respect but this course of action really disappoints me. I
didnt pay almost 1800$ for a notebook only to realize that the only option
to make the Centrino components work with my linux  system is to pay (again)
20 bucks for a proprietary driver loader. I have chosen linux besides other
benifits for the reason that i didnt have to pay for it. 
Linux is open source and therefore its drivers should also be available without further
costs. 
Dont get me wrong but i believe that Linuxant is betraying the
community with this marketing strategy. If you guys really have such a close
relationship to the hardware vendors it should be possible to make the
driverloader-concept available without any license fees. 

Your advantage is the lack of official hardware drivers for linux and the unability of the
vendors to improve the situation. Intel promised the Centrino owners to
develop a working driver structure for all compentens of the system yet
there isnt even a beta available. I really hope Linuxant is going to find
another more consumer friendly option to release their driverloader
architecture. Until this moment i will have to wait for the native intel
Centrino drivers.

Sincerely

A. Ellberg
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Boucher" <marc at linuxant.com>
To: <driverloader-announce at lists.linuxant.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2003 2:01 PM
Subject: [driverloader] [driverloader-announce] Permanent DriverLoader
licenses now available


> Hi,
>
> Please see the official press release below for details.
>
> Cheers
> Marc
>
> ---
>
> LINUXANT MAKES PERMANENT DRIVERLOADER LICENSES DIRECTLY AVAILABLE TO
END-USERS
>
> MONTREAL, QC Nov. 9, 2003 - Linuxant inc. is announcing, due to strong
> popular demand, the immediate availability of permanent end-user licenses
for
> DriverLoader, a revolutionary compatibility-wrapper allowing standard
> Windows NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) drivers shipped by
> hardware vendors to be used as-is on Linux x86 systems.
>
> DriverLoader licenses for end-users have been affordably priced at USD
$19.95
> and can now be purchased online from Linuxant's web store
> (https://www.linuxant.com/store). Upgrades to future versions will be
> provided at no extra charge for at least one year or longer. Free 30-day
> trial licenses also remain available. Due to significant
development/support
> costs, and inconclusive discussions with hardware vendors, it is not
possible
> to make DriverLoader completely free for end-users at this time.
>
> The latest release of DriverLoader can be downloaded from Linuxant's web
site
> and features significant stability improvements and compatibility with
> Intel PRO/Wireless (Centrino), Broadcom, Intersil Prism GT/Duette/Indigo,
> Cisco, Realtek, Texas Instruments, Atheros, and other Wireless LAN drivers
> for Windows.
>
> Linuxant is committed to continue improving DriverLoader so that it
becomes a
> fully compatible generic wrapper capable of running the majority of
Windows
> NDIS drivers.
>
> DriverLoader technology is the ideal Linux solution to support devices for
> which no adequate native open-source drivers are available. It also allows
> vendors to drastically reduce time to market or eliminate the need to
support
> multiple drivers for Windows and Linux. By using the same NDIS driver on
both
> platforms, significant resources can be saved. All Linux-specific code in
> DriverLoader remains open-source, allowing it to be used under any
supported
> version of the kernel.
>
> Thanks to DriverLoader, owners of Wireless LAN devices (CardBus and PCI)
with
> compatible Windows drivers can now use their devices under Linux, enjoying
> the full speed of the latest Wireless LAN technology with the freedom of
the
> renowned open-source operating-system.
>
> DriverLoader packages can be downloaded from Linuxant's web site. The
> software is easy to install on standard Linux distributions (RedHat, SuSE,
> Mandrake, Debian, and derivatives) with any recent 2.4 or 2.6 kernel, and
> includes a user-friendly Web-based configuration system.
>
> Vendors interested in using DriverLoader technology to enable their
products
> under Linux should contact services at linuxant.com.
>
> For more information or to download your copy of DriverLoader, please go
to
> http://www.linuxant.com
>
>
>
> About Linuxant
>
> Linuxant is a world-class supplier of consulting, software development and
> professional support services. Linuxant works closely with leading vendors
> and OEMs of semiconductor, PC, embedded and communication/wireless
products,
> as well as with companies in other industries, providing technological
> expertise and solutions to maximize the potential of Linux and
open-source.
> Additionally, Linuxant develops and distributes specialized system
software,
> such as device drivers for specific applications.
>
> Linuxant and DriverLoader are trademarks of Linuxant inc.
> Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the US and some other countries.
> Other trademarks belong to their respective owners.
> _______________________________________________
> driverloader-announce mailing list
> driverloader-announce at lists.linuxant.com
> https://www.linuxant.com/mailman/listinfo/driverloader-announce
> _______________________________________________
> driverloader mailing list
> driverloader at lists.linuxant.com
> https://www.linuxant.com/mailman/listinfo/driverloader


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