Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> ____/ Mark Kent on Thursday 06 September 2007 16:54 : \____
>
>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>> ____/ Mark Kent on Thursday 06 September 2007 14:14 : \____
>>>
>>>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>>> <snip>
>>>>>
>>>>> AMD to lose another sales executive
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
> http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/amd-lose-another-sales-executive/story.aspx?guid=%7B69C1A925-66D8-4905-9519-7251235FEAD3%7D&siteid=yhoof
>>>>>
>>>>> Meanwhile, however, AMD promises to open up components and it improved
>>>>> performance tremendously.
>>>>>
>>>>> AMD Delivers Significant Graphics Performance and Compatibility
>>>>> Enhancements for Consumer Linux Users
>>>>>
>>>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>>>| Moving forward, AMD also plans to accelerate efforts to address the needs
>>>>>| of the open source community as well.
>>>>>|
>>>>>| "As client computing on Linux continues to grow so has our support and
>>>>>| focus on delivering best-in-class performance and compatibility for our
>>>>>| products," said Ben Bar-Haim, vice president of software, Graphics
>>>>>| Product Group at AMD.
>>>>> `----
>>>>>
>>>>> http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070905/20070904006432.html?.v=1
>>>>
>>>> It's funny this, because if there'd been an open-source ATI driver
>>>> around for the last few years, I'd've always bought ATI cards. Most of
>>>> the processors here are AMD or PPC, except where they're ARM or MIPS...
>>>> I've a couple of Intel, too, but they were always more expensive for
>>>> similar performance when I was buying.
>>>
>>> Dell uses ATI for the Linux PCs. They'll get the drivers they requested.
>>> This is great news indeed.
>>>
>>
>> As I've always considered, once large OEMs are after such things, they
>> will appear with alacrity. I suspect that Microsoft's threats have done
>> much to prevent the appearance of OSS drivers, but the appallingly poor
>> sales of Vista seem to have eliminated much of the fear-factor now.
>> What more is there to lose anyway? Might as well get on the next
>> bandwagon, too.
>
> Just posted the latest (it's allowed because AMD unleashed the press release,
> so no embargo). It's open source heaven (gradual though) and I suspect that
> others will follow suit, not just in the GPUs market.
>
>> I think we'll see a mass exodus of freed vendors soon - those who realise
>> that /their/ tipping point has arrived, where sales into the new market
>> are becomming significant, and those into the old market are falling
>> ever faster.
>>
>> The key really is getting floss drivers; binary blobs don't really cut
>> the mustard.
>
> Not anymore. Your recent argument about binary drivers has just changed
> completely. Intel and AMD are both supporting what the market demands.
>
I sincerely hope so. Aside from anything else, there is major value for
vendors in having open-source drivers, since the drivers will be
community supported, thus massively reducing the vendors' own costs, and
leaving more resources to work on their actual products, which are
hardware, rather than software.
Conversely, if they wish to have "proprietary" code in the system, then
keep it on the card, and provide a sane interface from the card back to
the kernel, and all will be fine. The "special magic" in the driver
argument really doesn't wash, at least in the open-source world, anyway.
Incidentally, perhaps it /did/ wash in the Microsoft world, though -
maybe, if you were a really good, obedient and respectful vendor, you
got a better kernel interface?
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
| Cola faq: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/ |
| Cola trolls: http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/ |
| My (new) blog: http://www.thereisnomagic.org |
|
|
