Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves? [LWN.net]

Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves?

Posted Feb 19, 2008 19:05 UTC (Tue) by ikm (subscriber, #493)
In reply to: Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves? by vmole
Parent article: Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves?

I think you don't have to change your principles in order to recognize that these people can be a part of community. What alternative would you suggest for people who need high-end 3d under linux now? To stop having these needs, right? Or to go develop their own drivers? Or maybe even go develop their own hardware? It's ok to have principles, but some grip on reality would be nice as well. Particularly regarding the fact that people with different principles and different needs can still coexist in the same world without making it look like a checkered board.

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Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves?

Posted Feb 19, 2008 19:40 UTC (Tue) by vmole (subscriber, #111) [Link]

You did suggest that I change my priniciples. You said I shouldn't say bad things about NVidia because they won't provide the information needed to support their hardware properly. (And actually, I don't say bad things about them; I simply don't buy *any* of their products, and, if asked, recommend that others avoid them as well.)

And sorry, this is harsh, but if you don't care enough about free software to avoid products that only have proprietary drivers, then you're not part of my community. Yes, that means you can't play Duke Nukem Forever. Such is life.

Now, don't get me wrong. If people want to spend their time working on Nouveau, I won't recommend that they be stopped, somehow. But I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask why they are supporting the one common 3D HW companies that is not making any effort at all to support the free software community. And no, I don't count closed source drivers that only work with certain kernels and certain architectures as "support".

Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves?

Posted Feb 19, 2008 20:34 UTC (Tue) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]

3d is not only for self-indulging, as you're suggesting. And I'm certainly not a fanatic. I
just happen to have work to do. You have suggested nothing in how to accomplish that. Suit
yourself.

Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves?

Posted Feb 21, 2008 19:02 UTC (Thu) by amikins (subscriber, #451) [Link]

... Wait, what? You -ARE- aware there's REAL WORK that requires 3d graphics acceleration to be
anything resembling efficient?

There's modelling objects or products, either prior to production, or as the actual production
in the case of media. Architects, engineers, animators..

All these people can reasonably require extremely high end 3d graphics to get their work done.

Then there's simulations. Astronomers, physicists.. They, too, can need 3d modelling in order
to get their work done; it isn't all pure number crunching in the background. You have to
-show- what's happening, too.

Oh, and then there's the game developers, too...

Reverse engineering: more than NVIDIA deserves?

Posted Feb 21, 2008 19:52 UTC (Thu) by vmole (subscriber, #111) [Link]

Of course I'm aware of that. But I'm also aware those users, who have money to spend, did not use their buying power to influence one of the 3D companies to provide free drivers. They have taken advantage of the hard work of others to get off the expensive SGI workstations.