Competing vendors such as Atheros and Intel began supporting Linux natively sooner than Broadcom did, so the company's move last fall was met with resounding applause.

Since the release of that new open driver, it has been integrated into the recent , where it can be actively improved upon by the entire Linux community. It was also included in , or Maverick Meerkat, last fall.

Moving forward, Linux users of hardware with Broadcom chips will no longer have to give wireless another thought.

A Rapidly Growing Roster

Now, by joining the Linux Foundation, Broadcom is clearly signaling its intent to continue such efforts in the long term--a particularly exciting prospect given its portfolio of semiconductors for wired and wireless communications.