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Sad news for fans of Roccat hardware as the sole developer working on Roccat device support, Stefan Achatz, is stepping down from his work.
You might not have heard of him, but he is the sole person who has been working on Roccat devices to enable you to get all the features out of your fancy keyboards and mice.
He posted this simple message:
Stefan AchatzI'm working on the already released Skeltr. This will be the last device I'm doing, this projects ends here.
This is sad, as Roccat don't do any work themselves on Linux support for their devices, which means in future you probably won't be able to use any of the fancy features included in their expensive range.
I actually interviewed Stefan back in 2014, so go take a look if you never read it.
This will certainly make me re-consider who I will be purchasing my next keyboard and mouse from, as it likely won't be Roccat.
Thanks for letting me know northerner! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
No idea, I've got Logitech-mice, and Turtle Beach keyboards. No specific preference for the former, but they tend to be rather ubiquitous here in Switzerland, as Logitech is a Swiss company.
But I really like the Turtle Beach Impact 100 keyboard, as it only has the basic functions a keyboard can/should have, and it's got a huge key-lift and a heavy weight. And with the Swiss German layout, I also have a big backspace key, not the tiny the US one has.
But I really like the Turtle Beach Impact 100 keyboard, as it only has the basic functions a keyboard can/should have, and it's got a huge key-lift and a heavy weight. And with the Swiss German layout, I also have a big backspace key, not the tiny the US one has.
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ShoNuff!!! Dec 14, 2016
Truly a sad day for ROCCAT. Hopefully they find a replacement for the loss of talent because their products are top tier and need to stay that way, from a support perspective!
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It doesn't makes any sense. Now that they are finally delivering the Sova they retreat from linux? What do they thing is powering the Link. Windows ME?
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Shugyousha Dec 14, 2016
As far as I know, Roccat send Stefan their new products for him to be able to write the drivers. He has never been paid for his work though.
Him ending his work just means that he does not feel like doing this work anymore (which I can understand after several years). That doesn't necessarily mean that the Linux support of Roccat hardware will end immediately. All the old drivers should still continue to work and *maybe* somebody will step up to maintain the drivers. There may even be someone new coming out of the bush work to write drivers for the new hardware, who knows.
I want to thank Stefan for the work he did in any case because his work was the reason for me to buy a Roccat Mouse (with which I was/am still very happy). Take note Roccat...
Him ending his work just means that he does not feel like doing this work anymore (which I can understand after several years). That doesn't necessarily mean that the Linux support of Roccat hardware will end immediately. All the old drivers should still continue to work and *maybe* somebody will step up to maintain the drivers. There may even be someone new coming out of the bush work to write drivers for the new hardware, who knows.
I want to thank Stefan for the work he did in any case because his work was the reason for me to buy a Roccat Mouse (with which I was/am still very happy). Take note Roccat...
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ShoNuff!!! Dec 14, 2016
Quoting: ShugyoushaHe has never been paid for his work though.
Wow! Incredibly dumb move on the company or they don't care because the loss of talent may not reflect in their metrics for sales???
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Lordpkappa Dec 14, 2016
Sad news, i hope someone will replace him in developing Roccat drivers for Linux.
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slaapliedje Dec 15, 2016
I too bought a Roccat keyboard (Ryos MK pro) and mouse (Tyon, love it) because of their Linux support. I always kind of thought that they did pay him something, considering the link on roccat's website when you try to download the Linux drivers points to the sourceforge page.
Granted maybe he's just burned out (that's what it reads as to me). It also kind of sounds to me like maybe roccat decided to do something odd with their newer devices, and that he was only going to support just that last one.
The previous devices all work very well, though I have debated whether or not I should bring my Ryos MK Pro into work and buy a MK Glow to more match the mouse, but now I'm not so sure...
Edit: Actually now that I think about it, it was probably due to the interview on this site that made me buy the keyboard in the first place. Maybe we should just get Roccat to sponsor Gaming On Linux...
Last edited by slaapliedje on 15 December 2016 at 6:41 am UTC
Granted maybe he's just burned out (that's what it reads as to me). It also kind of sounds to me like maybe roccat decided to do something odd with their newer devices, and that he was only going to support just that last one.
The previous devices all work very well, though I have debated whether or not I should bring my Ryos MK Pro into work and buy a MK Glow to more match the mouse, but now I'm not so sure...
Edit: Actually now that I think about it, it was probably due to the interview on this site that made me buy the keyboard in the first place. Maybe we should just get Roccat to sponsor Gaming On Linux...
Last edited by slaapliedje on 15 December 2016 at 6:41 am UTC
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