On 06/11/2011 06:44 AM, Thomas Backlund wrote:
The only big problem they mention is the lack of decent video
drivers for both Ati and Nvidia in the DVD. Will Mageia ever have
those in the DVD or will it keep the "free" kind of version that
Mandriva has?
If it was for me, I would include them but I don't know about the
original reasons of why they are not.
In my mind, misplaced ideology. The arguments were that non-free
drivers should not be on a
nominally "free" dvd. I say nominally because even the kernel contains
technically non-free code.
Let's make the focus "working out of the box".
If that means including non-free drivers where a reliable free driver
does not exist, so be it.
After all, these proprietary drivers are to make the user's
proprietary hardware work properly.
And if a reliable free driver exists, of course we wouldn't include
the proprietary driver.
You know we are promoting open source, not closed stuff...
And you dont see users on MS side complain when they have to download
drivers from vendor site (or install it separately from a vendor
provided cd/dvd)
What we missed in Ati case is a fallback to non-KMS mode when firmware
is missing. So the ati driver do work without nonfree stuff too.
And people should also learn to check if hw is properly supported by
open source before buying.
We also need to educate endusers that not all hw vendors are
"os-friendly" so lets support those that are...
If Mageia is to grow it needs to attract the normal user. The one's
switching from MS. Many will not know what their video card is or may
not even have the technical knowledge to figure out their hardware. They
just want it to work. In ML I was asked if I wanted to load a propriety
driver. I don't recall that happening here. I had to go find it. On
bootup there was a lot of garbage about radeon and open spaces. I am
using the radeon HD 4200 card. I have been an ML user since 2002 and
have been able to work around problems with forum/mail list support. I
have installed it for first time users with no problem. They were happy.
Again, to succeed Mageia must include what is necessary for the average
non-technical user. I want to congratulate all those who have worked so
hard on getting the first version out.
Or teach people about _real_ open source...
That's not going to happen for the average non-technical user. In 2002 I
had heard about Linux and wanted to try something different. I had no
knowledge of system requirements. At that time mandrake was sold in the
local electronic store. It worked. And I have support from a local users
group.
Gary
