Under Linux, hardware support is a function of the kernel and not the OS. If one Linux distributor can support a device, they all can, so it's more of a matter of finding out whether Linux supports hardware than say Suse, Fedora, or Slackware. The following was taken from the Fedora FAQ and has some excellent information on how to determine whether your favorite devices are Linux-Compatible.

• Graphics Adaptors
  
  
• Audio Adaptors
  
  
• Printers
  
  
• Digital Cameras
  
  
• Scanners and Imaging Devices
  
  
• Software Modems (Winmodems)*
  
  

*Hardware modems pose no difficulty for Linux and are almost universally supported.

Linux isn't the only open source operating system out there. The three more popular BSD variants maintain their own hardware support notes.

• FreeBSD
  
  
• OpenBSD
  
  
• NetBSD
  
  

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by drjim edited by yock
last modified: 2006-10-23 12:02:19