Intel Driver Now Enables Floating-Point Textures

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Intel Driver Now Enables Floating-Point Textures

Intel's Mesa DRI driver now is unconditionally enabling floating-point textures. Up to this point, the floating-point textures feature of GL3 hasn't been enabled by default due to patent worries...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTI3OTY

[dungeon]

I am happy with this, clever move:
http://cgit.freedesktop.org/mesa/mes...57cf0044d8409e

hopefully someone will disable that format for radeon/r200, i am only have issues with it:
http://lists.freedesktop.org/archive...ry/032931.html

actualy in that fbo case it picked up not working format also MESA_FORMAT_Z16 instead of MESA_FORMAT_X8_Z24.

Don't know is it supported on these old radeons that Floating-Point Textures, even enabled in configure time it is not exposed on these old radeons.

[mark45]

Who owns the floating-point texture patent?
When does it expire?

[uid313]

Who owns the floating-point texture patent?
When does it expire?

S3 owned it, but they got purchased by HTC.

[oibaf]

Who owns the floating-point texture patent?
When does it expire?

See the extension:

IP Status

SGI owns US Patent #6,650,327, issued November 18, 2003. SGI
believes this patent contains necessary IP for graphics systems
implementing floating point (FP) rasterization and FP framebuffer
capabilities.

SGI will not grant the ARB royalty-free use of this IP for use in
OpenGL, but will discuss licensing on RAND terms, on an individual
basis with companies wishing to use this IP in the context of
conformant OpenGL implementations. SGI does not plan to make any
special exemption for open source implementations.

Contact Doug Crisman at SGI Legal for the complete IP disclosure.

[archibald]

Does anybody know why they had a change of heart and decided to enable it?

[RussianNeuroMancer]

Does anybody know why they had a change of heart and decided to enable it?

Probably because Intel already paid to SGI for using this patented algorithm with every single Intel GPU chip they sell. So they already paid for it - they can allow customers use it.