NVIDIA Transitioning To Official, Open-Source Linux GPU Kernel Driver

[kpedersen]

Well, most of the interesting part is still in the firmware, but it's a good move nonetheless!

Very true but at least that part is "platform agnostic" and won't get in the way of it one day supporting many more open platforms i.e OpenBSD.

[phoron]

We already have an ongoing pandemic and a war, besides the large scale cracking and leaks, so the hell is probably freezing over...
It's the year when everything is happening!
Who knows, it might be the year of Linux too!

Don't forget the CSAM regulation proposal to ban end to end encryption in the EU.
Allegedly democratic governments are turning more and more authoritarian, while traditional auhtoritarian governments and parties are growing bolder/stronger.

[landeel]

Wow, just saw a flying pig through my window. Is hell freezing?

[phoron]

I can't complain since it is really a step forward, so thanks NVIDIA, but I still want free firmware sources and a way to run it unsigned or signed with customer keys. DRM doesn't have to work then. If competitiors are equally bad, that only motivates me to buy nothing or the cheapest I can get.

[birdie]

Call me when they want to talk about open source firmware. I'm sorry, but FUCK NVIDIA

You could direct your swearing towards YOURSELF. Neither AMD, nor Intel release open source firmware for their GPUs.

I knew some Open Source zealots have troubles with common sense and logic, but your message has trumped by a wide margin pretty much all the negative comments here.

[birdie]

This definitely isn't as big as you want it to be: https://twitter.com/marcan42/status/1524615058688724992

Two likes here, and lots of extra for the twitter post, yet all of you are kinda ... completely out of your minds.

This firmware runs inside the NVIDIA GPUs using the RISC instruction set, it's never executed on the host PC.

And God forbid AMD and Intel also have closed firmware which no one knows what it does.

[birdie]

I would also add to my last post that I will truly consider nVidia good if they open up the CUDA API/ABIs for everybody else. That way other vendors can provide CUDA implementations, and existing CUDA applications can be used as-is, without jumping through a million hoops.

CUDA API is open. If you want to implement it on your GPU, NVIDIA won't stop you.

[berolinux]

That's certainly good news, big step in the right direction. But it's also too little too late, given where all the competitors are, and have been for years. Even the Mali problem on the ARM side has been solved a lot earlier.
I'll continue boycotting nvidia until they open up the userland parts (or enable Nouveau or some other project to provide a viable Open Source alternative).

[birdie]

NVidia, fuck you... less.

Kinda sums up Open Source/Linux zealots' attitude: WE CAN HATE, WE HATE, WE WILL HATE.

[Murple]

You could direct your swearing towards YOURSELF. Neither AMD, nor Intel release open source firmware for their GPUs.

I knew some Open Source zealots have troubles with common sense and logic, but your message has trumped by a wide margin pretty much all the negative comments here.

Why do people keep bringing up AMD and Intel? AMD I don't use so not really interested in (personally) and Intel are *of course* worse with their "management engines".

My point is that we shouldn't be celebrating companies moving more code into firmware and yet pretending they are becoming more open. They are not. They are becoming more closed.

You are right though, I am an open source zealot.