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ZDNet has an interesting article that brings readers up to speed on what's happening on the Linux graphic card compatibility and advanced GUI effects front. As usual there's a tug-of-war with people in the Linux developer community (including the free software advocates) and hardware makers regarding implementation of proprietary drivers with the Linux kernel, as opposed to offering full open-source drivers. The only trouble the hardware makers point out is that most of their closed-source drivers implement licensed third-party technologies that make it impossible to open them up for public development.
[It looks as if Intel plans to respond to the community. Great. We either have to use proprietary drivers or get FOSS drivers at the expense of being sucked into Intel's DRM. Vendors need to quit paying lipservice to the FOSS philosophy and GET REAL! - dcparris]
We either have to use proprietary drivers or get FOSS drivers at the expense of being sucked into Intel's DRM. Vendors need to quit paying lipservice to the FOSS philosophy and GET REAL! - dcparris
Actually, IMO all we need is for one vendor, either one of the current pack or a newcomer, to open up with full specs for their leading-edge hardware, and:
market forces will tear this logjam away
kernel hackers will reiteratively optimise that hardware driver (because they can), tuning the kernel logic driving it in the process until that graphics card practically walks on water compared to the others
that newly-open vendor will enjoy being the vendor for the Linux market, starting as quickly as the driver modules get to the Live-CD distros, with a sudden near-insurmountable market lead.
Linux is a rising-tide here, but, given the current logjam, it's only going to lift that one boat. The others will be left hoping that Vista's eye-candy appeal will be enough to drive new-hardware sales, and wishing they had paid a little more attention to what the Linux-oriented customers want.
Well, I do just fine without the proprietary drivers myself. But I'm not sure I like the present situation of having to choose a lesser evil. It's kind of like voting for President (I didn't care for either choice).
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