So you’re saying that MS is to blame because it delegates
driver development to the hw vendors? Well, they (the vendors) do WHCL (Windows Hardware Compatibility List) testing on their products to assure MS that they meet
a certain standard of usability. They can then put the
MS logo in the box. The rest can still program to the
DDK (a public interface) and MS takes no position on that code’s reliability. If I am developing a new HW product
I can dive in and try to make it work without having to
beg MS to give me an interface. What does kind of free kernel access does Apple provide? Do they provide a free DDK? Or do I need to sign a NDA, get layers of approvals and pay $$ for the information?
Microsoft didn't delegate in the first place. What MS did is allow those device developers high-level access to the kernel where before they were put in userland where they couldn't do much damage. Once Microsoft decided to do that, their business model is what killed them, although it is now less of a problem because all drivers must be signed (and supposedly tested). Apple also gives privileged access to drivers, but Apple controls the hardware and drivers, making it less of a problem.
What does kind of free kernel access does Apple provide?
In my perfect world, NOBODY would give any drivers kernel access. Take RIM's upcoming tablet that will run QNX, which is an extremely stable microkernel system. Device drivers (including video and network) run in userland, and can be killed and restarted if they become unstable or crash without affecting the rest of the system.