So after all that, you fail to mention a better alternative. Nothing
is perfect, we can nit pick anything, we can always imagine the worst
motivations behind any action. The problem is that many fine
companies look at rants like this and decide they don't even want to
go near linux. The way I see it, part of being free is being able to
choose not to give away your hard work for free just as you can choose
to give it away for free. All of us have to eat, so unless we want to
try our luck at being a charity, at some point we need to make money
to buy food and shelter ... you can't deny a person (or company) their
right to live and survive, and their is nothing inherantly wrong with
taking that a step further and actually being successful and good at
what you do such that lots of people want to give you money in return
for what you are selling.
It's fine if you dont' always agree with their choices, but I think
the overly negative tone and nature of your post and the plethora of
poor assumption and weak points detracts from any valid points you
might be trying to make.
Regards,
Curt.
Maybe that's what you want to happen?
Tom Brinkman writes:
> On Friday 07 September 2001 06:07 pm, John Check escribi�:
> > Hear hear
>
> OK, I originally posted my experience with Mandrake. Since a lot of
> y'all are probly LM users, comment on this discussion.
> ~~
> new linux drivers for nvidia cards Version: 1.0-1512
> From: Tom Brinkman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> On Friday 07 September 2001 02:46 pm, Linux xxxxx escribi�:
> > Is it possible for me to get a reverse-compiler
> > for Linux and de-compile these things into C or C++ ?
>
> Yes, then D/l the windoze drivers and have at it. You'll also need to
> dissect their chips. Might need some $pecial hardware ;> Careful tho,
> you might havt'a finish the job in jail along with that Russian guy.
>
> The excuse 'partially' Linux supportive vendors like nVidia an other
> Win-tel members give is that they don't want to expose their
> intellectual property by releasing the source for their drivers.
>
> I guarantee this is B$. The Wintel-M$ gang doesn't want popular and
> current hardware fully supported by other than Billy's OS. ATI has
> probly dissected nVidia drivers and chips to the point they might even
> know more about them than nVidia does.
>
> Hard fact of life that remains is that their hardware will never be
> fully functional and/or supported, or even could possibly be, by the
> Linux community developers until they provide open source so that it
> can be compiled against the almost infinite number of kernel, libc,
> gcc, etc., possibilities that currently exist across Linux distros,
> kernels, and users .... without retribution.
>
> What bothered me the most about nVidia's newest 1512 "Mandrake 8.0"
> closed source B$ drivers is that either out'a stupidity on their part,
> or intentionally, they were built against a 2.4.3 kernel and XFree 4.0.2
> Neither of which are current to 8.0. The Xfree part maybe NBFD, but
> the kernel is.
>
> (II) Loading /usr/X11R6/lib/modules/drivers/nvidia_drv.o
> (II) Module nvidia: vendor="NVIDIA Corporation"
> compiled for 4.0.2, module version = 1.0.1512
> Module class: XFree86 Video Driver
>
> D/l the nVidia precompiled 8.0-1512 rpm and you'll get a warning that
> it needs '2.4.3-20mdk' kernel. That doesn't mean it won't work with
> newer kernels, but it means it probly won't... and doesn't in my
> experience, or from what I've read on the cooker (Mdk developers) list.
>
> I've got one word for nVidia's Linux support, and like most in the
> wintel-gang, it's .... DISINGENUOUS. They're just stringin us along,
> with poor, partially capable, closed source secret drivers. IMO, out'a
> fear of losing M$ cooperation. YMMV I'm sort's pi$$'d at myself for
> buyin nVidia crap, even tho I knew all the above beforehand. My only
> excuse is it's gettin harder and harder... not to. Billy's winning ;(
> ~~
> --
> Tom Brinkman Galveston Bay
> >
> > On Fri, 7 Sep 2001, Andy Ross wrote:
> > > I _really_ shouldn't be getting involved in this...
> > >
> > > Curtis L. Olson wrote:
> > > > Tom Brinkman writes:
> > > > > Try buyin current hardware that's not Intel-M$-gang stuff
> > > > >
> > > > > Like I said, nVidia works great with Windoze
> > > >
> > > > Intel had a very prominant position at LinuxWorld ... I don't
> > > > think the lines are quite as clear as you are drawing them.
> > >
> > > And don't forget that NVidia is competing directly with Intel in
> > > the high-end chipset market with their "nforce" chipset family.
> > > And that they thumbed their nose at Microsoft from the very early
> > > days with their (really good, really prompt) support of OpenGL, or
> > > the fact that they release their linux drivers with the same
> > > feature set* as their windows ones. NVidia is basically supporting
> > > Linux in EXACTLY THE SAME WAY that they support windows users, and
> > > I think they ought to be applauded for that, or at least not
> > > ridiculed.
> > >
> > > NVidia drivers are proprietary software. If that's the issue you
> > > have with them, then grind THAT axe**. Don't confuse the issue
> > > with all this evil empire nonsense about the "Intel-M$-gang". It
> > > makes you look like a lunatic.
> > >
> > > Corporations are corporations, and they act out of self interest.
> > > Sometimes they do good things, sometimes they do bad things. I
> > > don't "trust" them any more than you do, and prefer free (as in
> > > speech) software to proprietary versions when I can get it. But
> > > when a company offers me software for free (as in beer) that does
> > > what I want, I generally use it. Don't look a gift horse in the
> > > mouth.
> > >
> > > Andy
> > >
> > > * Take a look at the register combiners, or vertex program
> > > extensions. No other vendor has this kind of feature support in
> > > OpenGL. ATI's windows-only Radeon drivers are a joke in
> > > comparison.
> > >
> > > ** Point us at free drivers for different hardware. I run the DRI
> > > drivers for the Matrox G400 on my other machine, and they work
> > > very well. Not as fast as the GeForce hardware, certainly, but
> > > quite acceptable. It's a nice piece of work.
>
>
> --
> Tom Brinkman Galveston Bay
>
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--
Curtis Olson Human Factors Research Lab FlightGear Project
Twin Cities [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Minnesota http://www.menet.umn.edu/~curt http://www.flightgear.org
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