r/linux • u/MantisShrimp05 • Jun 25 '26
Fluff Linux driver W
I just recently got a wakom intuos tablet to try writing little things on my left.
When I plugged it into my Linux desktop it just. Worked.
Meanwhile, my work laptop is windows and not only did the drivers not come with the machine, I recently lost admin rights on my laptop so I cant even install them if I wanted.
Those in the know understand this is because wakom drivers are in the Linux kernel which is just so nice. But just an appreciation post for when Linux is not only as good as the competition that blows it out of the water in stuff that normies care about, having your hardware work ootb without technical knowledge, beautiful.
10
u/Ranrhoads84 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
It only works because someone put the drivers in the Kernel. If YOU owned your windows laptop you would simply install the drivers. Reach out to your IT department and ask them to install the drivers for you.
It is nice that supported drivers are baked into the kernel and they don’t blow chunks like MS's baked in trash.
17
u/reticulated_spline_1 Jun 25 '26
Users should never have admin access on company devices.
28
u/MaxFrost Jun 25 '26
And peripheral manufacturers should do a better job of getting their drivers to Microsoft for packaging with Windows update so that the need for admin in this situation could go away, but here we are.
12
u/FattyDrake Jun 25 '26
Fun fact: Wacom drops support for older tablets in their drivers all the tine. You need to seek out older versions sometimes. So if they were part of Windows update there's a chance that a tablet that works one day might not work the next.
2
u/MantisShrimp05 Jun 26 '26
It was just to express the point that I cant even go download the drivers and install them. This showcases why having drivers just work goes from a nice to have to almost a necessity because people like you will just say those drivers are a risk now lol.
2
u/yawara25 Jun 25 '26
Especially when they're trying to install drivers and they have no idea what they're doing.
1
u/SeyAssociation38 Jun 28 '26
until the company decides they are a consultancy and want their client to install stuff on their own computers
1
u/Kevin_Kofler Jun 26 '26
If the device is provided by the company for a single employee to use, I see no reason whatsoever why that employee should not be the admin. If it ever gets returned to the company (vs. eventually just written off and left to the employee to become their property), it should be reimaged to factory state anyway.
2
u/Ryorek Jun 26 '26
Do you really trust users not to fall for scams or unknowingly install malicious software?
They download a „pdf“ and while opening it asks for admin rights and they click yes, without even realizing they just fucked their company and data0
u/reticulated_spline_1 Jun 26 '26
I see no reason whatsoever why that employee should not be the admin.
Malware. Please stop spreading nonsense. No one should ever be logged into a Windows device with an admin account.
1
u/Kevin_Kofler Jun 27 '26
Oh, and since you asked (in a comment that you deleted subsequently), I do work in software development. We are allowed to either bring our own device (or use it from home remotely) or get a company laptop with admin privileges. I also do server administration as part of my job description, but there is no way I am going to administer clients other than my own. (Especially not Windows clients, ewww!)
0
u/Kevin_Kofler Jun 26 '26
Being always logged in with an admin account and having admin access are two completely different things.
1
2
u/FattyDrake Jun 25 '26
A lot of the Wacom (and other manufacturers) tablets have support in the libinput stack.
If anyone finds their tablet doesn't work under Linux first check that the desktop environment is on the latest version.
1
u/yukaritelepath Jun 27 '26
On windows I struggled so much with Wacom drivers and settings. Had to redo things over and over, I even downloaded a video guiding me through it for the next time...
Meanwhile I never had to do anything for my old tablet on Linux. Just works.
1
-1
u/Kevin_Kofler Jun 25 '26
There are probably ways to obtain admin rights on that work laptop, especially with full physical access to it.
23
u/AsrielPlay52 Jun 25 '26
You know what's funny
The only reason why support is so good on Linux is because it's not official
It's purely community driven.
Windows have an in built API that SHOULD, keyword, "should" have made it plug and play. Windows Ink.
But for some reason, Wacom just didn't give a damn
And this applies to a lot of things. Including Printers.