INSTALLING HARDWARE DRIV¬ers on Linux has grown easier over the years-a very good thing, considering that eight to ten years ago you had to know a great deal about the hardware itself to get anything to work at all. With today's Ubuntu, and especially the brand-new version 7.10, nicknamed Gutsy Gibbon*, many drivers are built right into the OS (as with Windows), whereas others can be downloaded and installed easily. Furthermore, Linux developers continually update nonpro¬prietary versions of hardware drivers for commercially available devices, thereby avoiding dependence on the manufacturer to do so. Submit a re¬quest to the Ubuntu forums (or to any of your favorite general Linux forums) for a driver, and someone out there will either point you to an existing one or write a new one for global distribution. Such is Linux.

THE EASY WAY (IF YOU'RE LUCKY)

Like Windows, Ubuntu installs the drivers for many devices the minute you connect the hardware to the port. If installation is suc¬cessful, a small dialog box appears at the top right, directing you to the device's configuration menu. If not, use the dialog's Find driver button, which links to a hardware database for the device category (printer, sound card, and so on). Choose the device manufacturer and click Forward to step through the installation.

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UNOFFICIAL DRIVERS ARE COOL

The Linux community almost universally recommends nonproprietary drivers over those from manufacturers (in Linux-speak, "restricted drivers"). The reason is that the community can work on, fix, and further develop nonpro¬prietary drivers. When you first install Ubuntu, nonpropri¬etary drivers will install by default; but if a device doesn't work, or if you prefer to use a manufacturer's driver, use the Restricted Drivers utility, which shows you available restricted drivers on the system. (You can download oth¬ers.) Hover the mouse over them to see their functions, and click the check box. Then click Enable Driver in the subse¬quent dialog box to put the driver into operation.

GETTING WHAT YOU NEED

If you need a driver for a device Ubuntu doesn't recognize automatically, you'll have to download it, or else install it from the CD/DVD that came with the device. Launch the Synaptic Package Manager (System I Administration), click Search in the Package Manager's tool bar, and type the manufacturer's name. If the search yields an appropriate driver, check it and step through download and installation. If not, you'll likely need a proprietary driver. An increasing number of manufacturers provide Linux drivers on their Web sites.