On 01/31/2010 01:18 PM, Bruno Wolff III wrote: > On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 08:27:04 -0700, > "Christopher A. Williams"<chriswfedora@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> >> Nouveau only supports 2D, and the OpenSource Radeon driver has had at >> least as many ...ummm issues as the proprietary driver. >> >> So, if you need true 3D graphics support without a lot of issues, at the >> moment nVidia with their proprietary driver is your best option. This, >> of course, could change with the next set of releases from any of the >> players. > > The problem with this recommendation is that it doesn't take into account > that once you have bought the hardware, you are committed to it. Unless you > throw away your video cards every year or so, there is a good case to be > made the buying an r5xx radeon right now makes more sense. The r5xx cards > are supported OK now and will continue to be improved going forward for the > forseeable future. It is pretty hard to take the graphics card out of a laptop. When purchasing a laptop, you have to look at what you want to do with it. > > If you buy nVidia and want 3d features, you are stuck with the proprietary > driver until Nouveau provides them which might be two years out. And you > can't easily jump back to radeon. With all of the things going on with > Mesa and KMS, Fedora might be a particularly unfriendly distribution for trying > to use nVidia's drivers. > There is a supposed to be 3D support work through Gallium3D. Now this is not an option with Fedora as they don't make a RPM for this package. Maybe it isn't ready yet. I don't know. Without this, I cannot test the Nouveau driver. >> Accepting reduced function - especially when needed - for the sake of >> OpenSource dedication will lead down the path of people not adopting >> OpenSource software. We must face the reality that most people could >> care less about the type of license their software has, compared to if >> it meets their particular needs. As the CEO of Black and Decker once put >> it, people don't buy quarter-inch drills; they buy quarter-inch holes. > > I think for people like that, steering them toward Ubuntu is better than > having them use Fedora. Fedora's fast rate of change and stance on freedom > don't mix very well with people who just want things to work. This is what our admins are doing. Moving from Fedora to Ubuntu. Better upgrades is another issue. But Ubuntu isn't perfect. > > I do believe that getting better open source graphics drivers should be a > priority for Fedora. Since that is a matter of doing work and not something > undoable because of software patents. Redhat already has at least four > employees that are pretty much graphics system developers. I don't know > that it is reasonable to expect them to hire more. But it would be nice > if they could get a few that were more focused on getting 3d features > working, in addition to the people whose first priority is keeping the > 2d functionallity working. I would choose 2d only if that is what I need. On one laptop, that is what I run as it's main usage is browsing and using OOo. I need 3d as many of the applications that I use won't even run without 3d support. So lack of 3d isn't an option. Maybe it is time for Fedora to add a feature to rpm not to install 3d dependent apps if there are no 3d drivers present. Of course for many businesses, 2d support is all they need. Word processing isn't a 3d domain. > > Also remember that when dealing with corporations, cheering them on, generally > means buying their products. If you are buying nVidia hardware now out of > practicallity, they are the company you are cheering on and not the ones > supporting open source efforts. This is very true. At least nVidia is making a decent driver for their product. Not perfect but then nothing is. I will give them my money to keep it up. I purchased two new computers (1 laptop) last year. In both cases I chose nVidia video because I know that they work. Even in F12 and KDE. I have had Intel video cards and had to replace them with nVidia to get applications to work properly. I have been burned by ATI's support for Linux in the past, and that has left a sour taste in my mouth. I won't purchase an ATI card without reading some good reviews. Before Xmas, I didn't read many with Linux and ATI. I stuck with nVidia. I know the frustration of dealing with bugs and closed source drivers but that is a price I am willing to pay for a system that I can use a work and home. -- Robin Laing -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
