Idea #4946: Drivers should be downloaded when needed

Written by natureflow the 17 Mar 08 at 20:14. Category: System.
Related to: Nothing/Others. Status: New

Description

Additional Drivers (inkcl. propritary) should be downloaded (only) when needed. E.g. I add an camera to my system and the system asks my to download the right driver.

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vexorian wrote on the 17 Mar 08 at 21:06

I would agree if it was:

Drivers (including proprietary if restricted modules are enabled) should be downloaded when necessary if possible.

Ralf.Nieuwenhuijsen wrote on the 18 Mar 08 at 01:51

That would also be a great idea for video drivers, or network drivers.

Just click the install button to download that driver using no graphical interface and no working network connection.

BAD IDEA

Also, why? Why? Why? It takes about 10 megs to include all of them on the default install. Secondly the majority of the hardware is supported by a small set of drivers. Where one driver supports about 10 to sometimes 100 different pieces of hardware by different vendors.

Third: it kills plug & play.

Fourth: it sucks for people that have no internet connection when they plugin their printer or usb-stick.

What non-existing problem are not trying to solve here?

kq wrote on the 18 Mar 08 at 04:06

GOOD IDEA
1. Who need 5-10 Mb initrd.img? Why i must wait while all unnecessary soft was loaded?
2. P'N'P means dynamic load\unload device driver. VFS must to know where driver located.
3. Kernel havn't all possible drivers and sometimes you need net.

ay wrote on the 18 Mar 08 at 06:25

The initrd.img size isn't a big deal. I prefer having extra drivers around to having the fun of needing to download a driver for my NIC without having network access because... there's no NIC driver. That's so 'Windows'.

Then as for the stuff in /lib/modules, less experienced users love the current setup too, even though they don't know it. They plug in a device, it just works (on Windows, they'd need to download a driver).

It's very pleasant to be working with some device that has no network hardware, but you're able to plug in a USB NIC and get online.

Ralf.Nieuwenhuijsen wrote on the 18 Mar 08 at 16:13

>1. Who need 5-10 Mb initrd.img? Why i must wait while all unnecessary soft was loaded?

You are not waiting for it to load. It's called kernel modules. They get loaded 'on-demand'.

>2. P'N'P means dynamic load\unload device driver. VFS must to know where driver located

It knows where it is located. And no its not done by VFS.
Clueless buzzwording here.

>3. Kernel havn't all possible drivers and sometimes you need net.

3. Kernel has all legal drivers it can have. All other (restricted drivers) are automatically downloaded.

If there is a driver not included in ubuntu that could be than that's a bug. If it were to 'automatically' download that driver, they would like also forget this driver. Somebody stil got to maintain that driver repository.

Again, this is a typical 'brainstorm' where people are second-guess the developpers. Please, explain what advantage could possible exist?

Claiming things like 'i have to wait until its get loaded'. Lies Lies Lies.

Keep the brainstorms on usability and let these kind of decisions in the hand of the developpers. You say what you want, they will figure out how to get that for you.

Please, don't second-guess them and tell them how they should be doing their work. This is a open project. If you know better, than why aren't you rolling your own kernels and getting involved in the kernel team?

Ralf.Nieuwenhuijsen wrote on the 19 Mar 08 at 11:23

What's also funny, is that nobody understood my sarcasm.

How are you going to download a network driver, if you need a working network connection to download?

How are you going to do that in a user-friendly way, if the gui requires you to download a driver for your videocard and monitor?

What, back to text-mode?

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