NVIDIA Publishes Open-Source 2D Driver Code

[phoronix]

Phoronix: NVIDIA Publishes Open-Source 2D Driver Code

NVIDIA has published initial patches for providing open-source 2D hardware acceleration support on their NVIDIA Tegra 2 and Tegra 3 SoCs. This work is based upon the experimental open-source Direct Rendering Manager driver to be merged into the Linux 3.8 kernel...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTIzNjE

[schmidtbag]

I'm not sure why nvidia is giving all this open source attention to tegra and nothing else. Why not the PS3 graphics or GeForce graphics? I think it's great they're doing anything at all, I just don't understand their priorities.

[Gusar]

Why not the PS3 graphics or GeForce graphics?

The Geforce driver is ooooold and a huuuuge codebase. And likely covered by several contracts and NDAs with third parties. So sanitizing that codebase for an open release is pretty much impossible, even if Nvidia was the sole owner of it. But Tegra is a new design, so all that stuff that's holding back the release of code and/or docs regarding Geforce does not apply to Tegra. That's why.

[beaverusiv]

They could be thinking about shipping Ubuntu tablets maybe?

[b15hop]

Well at the rate of which phones are upgrading, I'm not surprised that 2D open source drivers are released so quickly. At the same margin I was most definitely jaw dropped. I think maybe this result was due to the "f you nvidia" from Linus? Who knows... This news and the news of the steam beta would have to be the best news in the last 5 years of Linux gaming!

[kevincox]

Please NVIDIA, keep this up and extend it to desktop drivers. I am looking for a new PC and can't decide whether to go with Intel graphics because they are open source, or go go with NVIDIA for the better performance. I am leaning towards Intel (probably waiting for Haswell) but if NVIDIA started making quality FOSS drivers it would make my decision soooo much easier.

[Hulings5Robert]

This work is based upon the experimental open-source Direct Rendering Manager driver to be merged into the Linux 3.8 kernel...