icculus interview

[deanjo]

Your very unusual situation of having to run complex GPGPU stuff at maximum performance, while being forced to use Linux and the GNU toolchain, is hardly representative.

That is just one of the features required. Another requirement is the very common task running everything and items like h264 acceleration.

I'd still prefer Nvidia to release specs, so we can at least have full-featured drivers for the rest of us.

Even releasing the specs still won't get you full-featured drivers in linux as long as patents play a part in if something can be supported in linux or not. h264 support for example is unlikely to see the light of day in any official legal capacity where it can be offered to everyone. Same goes for some parts of the higher levels of openGL and as mentioned in the article S3TC support nor is mesa ever really going to be optimized on a per device level to achieve maximum performance.

[pingufunkybeat]

But these are general problems with Free Software, including MPEG, MP3, GIF support, encryption, and many other things which are semi-legal.

I'm not going to replace all these with closed-source blobs, and neither are you. Do you have a binary MP3-player and DVD-player on your Linux computer? Really?

[deanjo]

Do you have a binary MP3-player and DVD-player on your Linux computer? Really?

The man is paid. 100% legal here. It sucks, I know, but if the man came crashing the door, he can't do squat.

[crazycheese]

I totally agree the only reasonable way you will get opensource drivers is if the manufacturer creates them. That is a no brainer and I have never denied it. They are the ones most qualified for the job after all.

Exactly.

There is no opensource on GFX now.

Zero

All you may find is open core crap.

Ubuntu is essentially bugtesting minefield for users to increase canonical income, nothing more.

[pingufunkybeat]

What does Canonical have to do with writing GFX drivers?

[nightmarex]

While I agree that the large GPU vendors should put out some kind of useful open source driver's. I worry about what will happen to our beloved GNU/Linux when all the 'next' clicking virii bots migrate over after the gaming roadblock vanishes. I mean window's user's of course

[crazycheese]

What does Canonical have to do with writing GFX drivers?

There are different business models.
One business model is to produce product taking a credit, place it correctly, market it(push it) and sell - the classic proprietary.
Another model is to calculate people needs, create a product and set a head price, so when every buys in small pieces, once the goal is reached the product is available for all.
And finally there is a model, where people desires are implemented in form of monetary subscription, customers literally command where product should go.

But whole does not have anything with ubuntu and amd in common. If we have luck 69xx support will be usable in 2.6.41 kernel, which will be at least 1,5 years from present point; at point when 7xxx generation already rolled out. And even then, there will be hardly any serious multihead or 3D. The video engine will be unused, there may be a possibility of some video acceleration via opencl. Why? Because the company sees opensource as second class, legacy driver. A driver, which it does not want to work any hard with, it prefers catalyst day and night. Same goes for openoffice/staroffice and many many opensource projects which in reality utilize "open core" model. There is no difference to nvidia in this case.

The (barely usable) core is open, so that you spend your own time solving problems(actually helping the company to solve them with your own time, cutting cost is one of the ways to improve income); but if you want usable thing - you will HAVE to pay and it will be proprietary, with core parts taken from cheap open version. A bug test method. Ubuntu and AMD are same here.

Wait, but,.. why do you buy the card? You will just have to buy the card, don't you? You can't just download it off the repo. You pay for hardware and make it work yourself after devoting several years of personal time? Or you pay for advantages which this card may bring, if hardware and software work? Its very essential thing.

Open source is only then real open source(and not a proprietary chameleon) , when not only does it work, as you would expect from proprietary,
not only does the company stands behind it, as if it was proprietary,
but the source is also available and everyone is permitted to improve it, not only the company(call it the prime driving force) itself.

[crazycheese]

While I agree that the large GPU vendors should put out some kind of useful open source driver's. I worry about what will happen to our beloved GNU/Linux when all the 'next' clicking virii bots migrate over after the gaming roadblock vanishes. I mean window's user's of course

They are no more, but a by-product of those who produced them. Of microsoft. Just as "piracy" is a by-product of proprietary patented unpayable.

There is no "next" button in linux.

[deanjo]

after the gaming roadblock vanishes.

Can't see gaming roadblocks vanishing anymore then windows going open source.