What Will Happen To xf86-video-nv In 2010?

[phoronix]

Phoronix: What Will Happen To xf86-video-nv In 2010?

Thanks to the surprise push this morning of the Nouveau driver for the Linux 2.6.33 kernel, this free software, reverse-engineered NVIDIA driver stack is on its way to being used in a lot more Linux systems and distributions. The xf86-video-nouveau X.Org driver will still need to have a release in the coming months, but in 2010 it looks like this driver stack will be working its way into many more Linux distributions...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=Nzc5OA

[Silverthorn]

Share with us what you think NVIDIA will end up doing in this situation.

They'll stop supporting Linux altogether.



Add: On a more serious note, I guess they'll continue to support their stripped version until most people and companies has moved on to 2.6.33.

[damentz]

Remember, they said they would like something functioning that would require the least amount of maintenance going forward.

If contributing to nouveau requires extra development time over nv, then they will most likely continue updating nv and ignore what nouveau does, even if nv is no longer packaged with modern distributions anymore.

[King InuYasha]

They'll stop supporting Linux altogether.

nVidia would have to be quite stupid to do that. A lot of their biggest customers use nVidia graphics chips with Linux to do advanced 3D rendering.

I think it's more likely to be this:

NVIDIA continues adding basic mode-setting support for new GPUs to this driver knowing that it is not widely being used, but that the Nouveau developers will likely look over this code for possible information in supporting new ASICs under their driver (although most of the Nouveau driver is developed through clean-room reverse engineering of the NVIDIA binary driver). This is the approach NVIDIA would use if they wish to not be associated at all with the Nouveau project.

However, I would like to see them actually commit support for nouveau and actually help them along. I'm now the unfortunate owner of an nVidia card, and I have a vested interest in seeing nouveau get more complete support.

[Silverthorn]

nVidia would have to be quite stupid to do that. A lot of their biggest customers use nVidia graphics chips with Linux to do advanced 3D rendering.

I think it's more likely to be this:


However, I would like to see them actually commit support for nouveau and actually help them along. I'm now the unfortunate owner of an nVidia card, and I have a vested interest in seeing nouveau get more complete support.

I wasn't really being serious when I wrote that.

I would be great if they stated to support the nouveau driver. That would result in more people being able to (and motivated to) develop on the gallium3d state trackers.

[Remco]

I think they will just stop any opensource effort. NVIDIA only cares about their proprietary driver. The opensource driver is only there so that Linux boxes with NVIDIA hardware will at least get to the login prompt. When Nouveau does that (and more), there's no need to waste resources.

[deanjo]

end of 2007 amd-buy-ati and have a plan for making a opensource-driver.

i switch from Nvidia to an amd grafic card in 2007!


if free people, if we wana peace, software peace of Freedome, Nvidia must DIE!



Die Nvidia i hope you DIE!!!!

So you hope ATI gets a monopoly. That's real smart isn't it. But saying peace and freedom comes from the extermination of others is not a new concept to your country is it?

[DeepDayze]

Remember, they said they would like something functioning that would require the least amount of maintenance going forward.

If contributing to nouveau requires extra development time over nv, then they will most likely continue updating nv and ignore what nouveau does, even if nv is no longer packaged with modern distributions anymore.

But WHY would they continue to support and maintain this rather old crappy driver?

Nouveau probably would be at the point where it's like where the ATI OSS radeon driver is now.

[deanjo]

But WHY would they continue to support and maintain this rather old crappy driver?

Nouveau probably would be at the point where it's like where the ATI OSS radeon driver is now.

Quite simply to have a quick and dirty same day offering for base level support without having to worry about nouveau eventually trying to provide features that they may not want to have in a opensource solution. So they can either maintain the status quo or submit patches that may drastically alter nouveau's offering. Right now their cost and resources spent in the opensource solution is minimal.

I would be surprised for example when Fermi debuts that nouveau will be in any shape to handle it being that it is a radical departure from previous generations of chips. nv and nvidia blob support are more then likely going to have same day or near same day support.

[DeepDayze]

Quite simply to have a quick and dirty same day offering for base level support without having to worry about nouveau eventually trying to provide features that they may not want to have in a opensource solution. So they can either maintain the status quo or submit patches that may drastically alter nouveau's offering. Right now their cost and resources spent in the opensource solution is minimal.

They'd better improve it enough to make it worthwhile...nv does not support the newest cards at the moment.

If nouveau does reach the level where it's feature complete then I'd say give nv the ol' heave ho