« It wouldn’t be you
The Jokosher IRC bot »

AMD is strongly considering open-sourcing at least a functional subset of ATI’s graphics drivers

AMD is strongly considering open-sourcing at least a functional subset of ATI’s graphics drivers. It’s time for X Window System, OpenGL, and client virtualization for which ATI binary drivers aren’t available to escape the ghetto of the 1980s-era framebuffer. And what a boon for PR. If AMD’s graphics cards were the only ones with open device drivers, it might affect a buying decision or two.

Please let this be real. This would make Linux people recommend ATI over nVidia every day and twice on Sundays, because they’d be perfectly supported, it might encourage nVidia to do the same, and it’d help ATI regain some Linux desktop share (because at the moment people actively recommend that you stay away from ATI). Plus, it might help tame Intel a bit, since Intel integrated graphics is in danger of becoming the best supported chipset under Linux, and AMD (ATI’s new owners) probably don’t want that.

It’d let me run Xgl too, but that’s got nothing to do with it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 10th, 2006 at 12:30 am and is filed under Linux, Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “AMD is strongly considering open-sourcing at least a functional subset of ATI’s graphics drivers”

  1. If they did this I would sell my nVidia card and buy Ati in a second.

    mrben
    8 hours later

  2. With you all the way guys. Please let this be true. Binary drivers really piss me off but I’ve little choice at the moment. ATI drivers are often considered to be poor compared to nVidia ones and my next card will be nVidia if this doesn’t happen. If it does then I’ll stay with my ATI card and buy another when upgrade time comes around.

    Adam Sweet
    10 hours later

  3. You should get a machine with a later intel i180-style card (e.g. 865 or above). Both my laptops (a Toshiba A200 and a black MacBook) run XAIGLX happily complete with wobbly windows, etc using the open source i810 drivers.

    Rich
    14 hours later

  4. Rich: yes, yes, I know that *now*. Where were you when I was asking for laptop purchase advice? :)

    sil
    15 hours later

  5. I’d be surprised if they opened 3D support. This (if true) probably means something like the “nv” driver - capable of decent 2D graphics but not GL support. Some of the modern GL technologies like S3TC are patented.

    Mike Hearn
    42 hours later

  6. Mike: if they’re patented then open-sourcing them is by definition not a problem; people can’t copy them anyway! That’s what patents are *for*. You can’t GPL them, true.

    Doesn’t look like it matters, though, since ATI have said “We have no plans to release these drivers to open source“. Maybe AMD will make them do it.

    sil
    3 days later

Leave a Reply

OpenID is a decentralised authentication system. If you use LiveJournal or Vox you already have an OpenID; just use the URL of your homepage there. See also how to get yourself an OpenID.