Despite my utter distaste for Novell thanks to Netware, I do find this very interesting. While the sheer customiziation of Linux is great, sometimes it’s almost too much, and a few standardizations here and there wouldn’t necessarily hurt, IMO.
From that artical
Although the the Partner Linux Driver Process sounds like a great idea for end users, some open source software advocates argue that it could indirectly promote distribution of proprietary binary drivers. According to the critics, the ability to easily distribute drivers in binary format gives companies no incentive to open their source code and work directly with the kernel developers
Using proprietory software and drivers kind of goes against what Linux is about don’t you think?
I’d rather the drivers continue to get developed within the kernel. The current system works very well. I have never had a peice of hardware fail to be installed correctly in Linux.
I just don’t think we need this kind of thing. With the exception of Wireless adaptor drivers, everything works OK.