Supporting Linux on the desktop

It’s great to see more and more major manufacturers supporting Linux with their products! I bought a Brother digital copier/scanner/printer today for $99 (model number DCP-130C) partly because of a recommendation in a PC mag, but mostly because of the image you can see here… yep, Brother actually develops printer drivers for Linux.

And they’re not alone… Hewlit Packard has quite a marketing campaign on their Open Source and Linux from HP page:

HP is investing resources in open source efforts to improve the support for devices within Linux [...] This site will provide ongoing updates as HP continues to expand its commitment to Open Source and Linux.

It’s an exciting time for free operating systems! A few years ago (ok, nearly 10!) when I started using Linux I had to struggle to get it working with my monitor. These days my two computers at home are running Ubuntu Linux and recognise nearly every device that I throw at them (MP3 players, iPods, Cameras etc. – even my Digital TV card!)

In the end, setting up the drivers for my new scanner/printer involved a little more fiddling than if I’d installed it under Windows – mainly because the drivers don’t come on the CD that’s bundled with the printer… yet… that’ll change as the Linux user market continues to grow.

My first scan isn’t exactly a great example of the colour and definition attainable by my new Brother toy… but it’s special: Franzie and I went for the 20 week ultrasound of our third little child today. S/he hiccuped, rolled around several times, scratched his nose, opened his mouth, and put on quite a performance! It always blows me away to see how grown up a human is at only 20 weeks of gestation!