No Intel Poulsbo Driver For Ubuntu 9.10

Intel's Poulsbo driver for their GMA 500 IGP on the SCH U15W is a bloody mess. Unlike their X.Org driver for their other Intel IGPs, the Poulsbo driver is closed-source (since they licensed some of the technologies for this graphics processor), but the problems go beyond just whether or not you like to use a binary blob. Intel hasn't done a good job at maintaining this driver and ensuring it works with the latest kernel and X.Org releases and tracking down all of the components to use the driver on a non-supported distribution can be challenging. In fact, it took quite some work to even get the Poulsbo driver running on Fedora.

Originally the Intel Poulsbo driver was found with Ubuntu where those using Mark Shuttleworth's operating system could get this driver working with not so many steps. However, that will not be the case with Ubuntu 9.10. Canonical's David Mandala, who serves as the manager of the Ubuntu Mobile project, shared an interesting statement on the ubuntu-devel list: there will be no Poulsbo support in Ubuntu 9.10. Intel is not interested in supporting Ubuntu 9.10 and as a result their proprietary driver will not work or be included with this next Ubuntu release known as the Karmic Koala.

If Intel is not even supporting their driver on this next Ubuntu release, it will be unlikely for them to support it in any other Autumn distribution update, with the likely exception of Moblin V2.