Yes! And no. Most common peripherals--modems, printers, network adapters, and so on--work just fine under Linux. But some work better than others, and some don't work at all. Here are a few general guidelines for peripheral compatibility issues.
Older ISA cards: That NE2000-compatible network adapter, your old Sound Blaster 16, and the U.S. Robotics Sportster modem you've used for years should function perfectly under Linux. In fact, that's part of what makes Linux great: you can take advantage of old hardware that would otherwise hit the trash heap.
PCI cards: As a rule of thumb, ISA is a better bet under Linux than PCI--at least for now. For instance, many PCI modems tend to be "Windows" modems (see below), so they simply won't work under Linux. The latest PCI sound cards, such as the Turtle Beach Montego and Sound Blaster Live, aren't supported under Linux yet either (though developers are frantically pounding on the problem). It also helps to have the latest Linux kernel when trying to work with PCI cards. Also note that many PCI Ethenet and SCSI cards are supported. Check your distribution's supported hardware list for details.
Plug and Play: Plug and Play can make life easier under Windows by allowing the computer to automatically assign resources to the various cards in your system. Linux can do Plug and Play, but the function isn't nearly as seamless. Check out this how-to for help with your system. Depending on your hardware, you may have no problems, or you may have a boatload.
"Windows" peripherals: To keep costs down, some hardware makers have started selling products such as modems and printers as "Windows" products. These devices tend to be less expensive than their more universal counterparts, but they won't work under Linux. Why? Because Windows devices (such as the 3Com/U.S. Robotics Winmodem and the Lexmark Winwriter 200 printer) use software on the PC--and the system's CPU--to get their jobs done. Linux fans have managed to get some Windows printers up and running, at least partially. Check out this printing how-to for details.
USB: The market for USB peripherals is booming. Unfortunately, Linux hasn't caught up quite yet. At least one person is working on support for the bus. But as of this writing, it wasn't ready for prime time.
For fairly complete and
somewhat up-to-date lists of supported peripherals, refer to the hardware
section at Linux Online and the hardware
compatibility how-to from the Linux
Documentation Project.
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