Fedora Core 6 HUGE problem

[Les Mikesell]

Frank Cox wrote:

>> it is about supporting fedora 
>> users and providing something that works for them.  It seems odd for 
>> that to be such a controversial topic.
> 
> The main problem is support for a "black box", as you have been told many times
> before.

Yes, people keep repeating that, yet they never produce any evidence to 
show how much better and more reliable Linux 3-D video is on the 
corresponding hardware than Windows or OSX with their binary-only 
drivers. I've never experienced any problems with those myself.

> A side-effect of this is that people are incented to purchase and use products
> from "cooperative manufacturers" when they wish to use Fedora (or any other
> Linux distribution).  Personally, I use and recommend Intel motherboards
> and video chipsets when anyone asks my opinion.  (I don't know about you, but I
> get asked several times every week.)
> 
> I'm just one guy, and who cares about my opinion?  Apparently, folks around here
> do. You can provide similar advice to the folks around your area who care about
> yours. On a sufficiently large scale, the problem will eventually become
> self-resolving as Nvidia and ATI and whoever-else will wake up and smell the
> coffee and continue to sell video cards into the Linux market, or not.
> 
> Intel graphics currently work just fine out-of-the-box and will continue
> to do so. 

For some definition of working and some of their chips...  Intel has 
made a bunch of stuff that shares motherboard RAM and produces output 
that isn't great.  I haven't kept up with which is which.

> Nvidia's and ATI's don't.  Therefore, the correct decision is
> obvious; if the purchaser doesn't research his purchase before putting his
> money on the counter, whose fault is that?

Nvidia and ATI's drivers aren't included in the box.  They could be.

> "But it's a lot of money to spend to buy a new computer!"  Indeed, it can be.
> The more reason to look into what you're buying before making the deal.
> 
> "But we already have one of these unsupported video cards in our old computer!"
> Well, it's unsupported.  Your choices are to live with it or purchase a
> supported card. 

Or run an OS that respects its users enough to include the vendor's 
drivers - which is what the majority do.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com