Could tthere be an update iso distribution

[Jonathan Berry]

On 3/16/06, sean <seanlkml at sympatico.ca> wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 11:01:35 -0600
> "Jonathan Berry" <berryja at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Umm, the nv driver is far from being "perfectly good," sorry.  Most of
> > the time it works for 2D, yes.  As you mention below, it does not
> > support 3D at all.  Also, for me, the nv driver does not even support
> > simple 2D OpenGL programs for some reason.  Especially right now
> > OpenGL support is essential since I am taking a class that involves
> > writing OpenGL programs.
>
> You fall into the minority then; most people today aren't using any
> Open GL at all in their day to day use.

Possibly.  Why do people buy big fancy graphics cards?  To play games,
mostly (that is for the normal consumer).  Then there is, of course,
those in industry that use 3D CAD tools and such.  I'd guess that if
you know and care that you have an nVidia card, then you want to do
3D.  Those who buy a computer without knowing or caring exactly what
hardware is there don't count ;).

> > > nvidia driver that should be used by the _vast_ majority of people
> > > saddled with nvidia hardware.   Only those playing 3d games under
> > > Linux or driving multiple displays need to even consider the
> >
> > Consider?  No, they *must* use the nvidia driver in those cases.
> > There is nothing to consider.
>
> Wrong.  They could (and IMHO should) consider changing hardware.

We were talking about nVidia cards, I thought (at least).  Show me a
graphics card with open source drivers that can perform at least as
well as my PCI-e GeForce 6600 GT and I will seriously consider
changing hardware.  Oh, and I have the possibility for getting another
one and doing an SLI setup.  Yeah, I don't think such competing
hardware exists.

> > > proprietary driver.   Way too many people end up installing the
> > > binary albatross just for everyday desktop use, which is nuts.
> >
> > That may be true, but when I spend a not insignificant amount of money
> > on a nice video card, I expect to be able to use all of the
> > functionality.  At least nVidia does a decent job of supporting their
> > hardware and providing Linux drivers that most of the time work (and
> > usually work *very* well).  That cannot  be said of some other video
> > chipset manufacturers...
>
> I'm not interested in excuses, i'm interested in using and enjoying
> the benefits of open source software.  My point was that many people

If nVidia (or someone else, legally,) produced an open-source driver
that worked for 3D, I'd be all for using it.  Using the binary driver,
especially on Fedora, is somewhat a pain, but the benefits are worth
it, for me.

> who share this desire are "helped" into installing the binary crap
> when they have no real need for it.

Why is it "binary crap" as you so elegantly put it? :)  If they really
share the desire for open source software, then I doubt they will use
the binary driver without a real need.  I know of people who have
nVidia cards and use nv because they like OSS.

I really wish that Linux could get past the everything-must-be-GPL
attitude.  The GPL is great, free, Free software is great, but it
doesn't work for some companies, especially when hardware and IP are
concerned.  Think about it, if nVidia open-sourced their driver, don't
you think they would become *the* hardware of choice for nearly *all*
of the Linux community?  Just a thought.

Jonathan