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A fairly common problem when running an OS other than Windows is finding well-supported hardware. I'm actually surprised we're not getting more questions about this. Well, we've just had one, and I wonder how we should respond.

Do we want to have a question about touchpads with certain specific requirements? A general question about pointing devices? A general question about finding hardware support lists?

Related prior discussions:

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1 Answer 1

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Here's my view on this.

  • We should have a general question on “how do I find hardware compatibility information before buying”, with pointers to various compatibility databases. Probably CW with a single answer.

  • Some hardware categories deserve more specific questions, for example graphics cards.

  • Hardware recommendation questions that have very specific requirements that aren't easily solved by checking the vendor-listed information or official hardware compatibility lists should be allowed. More general questions should be closed (with a reference to the generic questions).

  • Questions asking where to buy are right out.

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  • so probably two canonical questions as outlined in point #1 and #2 -- I think that should cover the vast majority of it Apr 30, 2011 at 20:12
  • Generally agree. I'd add wireless NICs to the list that require more specific questions. It'd be nice to know which chipsets are supported. But this is generally pretty distro specific with varying blacklists and the like. Out of interest to which compatibility list would the CW point? Is there one that's any good?
    – boehj
    May 2, 2011 at 1:09

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