Re: FC2 kernel quality

[Lamar Owen <lowen pari edu>]

On Thursday 30 September 2004 18:20, Carlos Rodrigues wrote:
> Also that "not supported" thing is crap. Binary modules are a fact of
> life and some care ("some" meaning "break it if you have to, but avoid
> it if you can") must be taken so that users can use them.

Only if you need 3D acceleration do you need the closed source nvidia drivers 
to use nvidia cards.  The nv driver does work fairly well, even if it isn't 
the ultimate in performance.

The Linux kernel developers have made the decision to not support binary 
modules.  It's not a Red Hat decision.  The developers can't be expected to 
help debug a problem with a module for which they don't have source, nor can 
they be expected to debug a problem in a kernel which has a binary-only 
module loaded, since they can't really be sure the binary module isn't the 
source of the problem.

So, when the word 'supported' is used in relation to binary modules, it's not 
that they can't be used it's just that if you choose to use them then you 
need to go to the supplier of the module for support.

I personally do use the nvidia driver (courtesy of ATrpms) on my personal box 
at home, but I understand the risks of doing so.
-- 
Lamar Owen
Director of Information Technology
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
1 PARI Drive
Rosman, NC  28772
(828)862-5554
www.pari.edu