Lourens Veen wrote:
"ATI: We like our proprietary Linux drivers"
http://news.com.com/2061-10791_3-6104655.html?part=rss&tag=6104655&subj=news
Looks like we're not going anywhere anytime soon. AMD may be making some
noises, but the buy hasn't even been approved yet, and it's very
unlikely that they'll be able to open-source the current drivers on a
whim. They may try to put some integrated graphics in their processors,
in a few years, which may be documented then. Or maybe not; there will
have to be a bus between them anyway and a separate proprietary driver
is quite possible. For now I don't think we have much to worry about.
I see this as basically irrelevant. AMD has proposed to buy ATI; this
is not a merger. If AMD buys ATI, they can tell them what to do.
I did find it interesting that ATI claims that parts of their driver are
patented. If so, there is no reason to keep it a secret -- it can't be
GPLed but it can be opened sourced and/or licensed. The patent
protection, if valid, would prevent other companies from using the
patented optimizations in drivers for other chips. It is only trade
secrets that need to be kept secret -- you can not, by definition,
patent a trade secret.
Clearly, AMD has decided (correctly) that they need graphics to compete.
Their two major competitors in the PC business (Intel & VIA) have
graphics so one way or another AMD will have graphics. If they don't
buy ATI, it is likely that they will spend the money to develop
graphics. Either way, if they want it open sourced and/or fully
documented, that is how it will be.
--
JRT
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