Matrox has been proprietary. ATI is now proprietary. The XFree86 4.0+ model introduced a loadable module option, which allowed binary drivers. nVidia just adds some kernel memory and AGPgart interfaces. Until recently, those were Intel "trade secrets" nVidia could not disclose. As far as the unified driver, Matrox, nVidia and now ATI have the same issue, Intel, Microsoft and a host of other companies' lawyers would have a field day if they were GPL'd. ATI should be commended for attempting to make a "clean room" DRI/ GLX implementation. But eventually they had to give in, and started withholding specifications as of R300 (Radeon 9500+). And even before, many 2D and 3D interfaces were _never_ published by ATI. What really gets to me here is the _real_market_conditions_ involved. We're not talking about a product that is released and modern for 2-5 years. We're talking about a product that is _obsolete_ in less than _12_months_! GPUs double in speed 2-3 times faster than CPUs. The drivers are under development alongside engineering under NDA, and that's not going to change. If they opened up the driver model, then they'd still either need to A) have you sign a NDA, or B) you'll see drivers for Linux come out some 6+ months _after_ release. I think there are lessons to be learned from ATI's prior attempts. In reality, we're still talking an "open standard" in GLX, with ARB extensions and in a few cases, yes, some GPU-specific extensions (that get rolled into ARB much faster than DirectX where many _never_ become part of the spec). The concept that leading-edge video drivers will _ever_ be GPL is very slim-to-none. And as far as the license, the drivers are unified, and written for _all_ platforms, so there is the argument that they do not require Linux (and Linus' comments have been used similarly for justifying binary-only WLAN objects). In reality, yes, I'd like to see nVidia's memory interfaces in the kernel GPL'd. And now that the _standard_ PCI-Express is here from the PCI Standards Group (AGP was _never_ a standard, but an Intel trade secret of PCI), I hope Intel takes off some chains on nVidia. But there is just too much IP involved, and too many NDAs. GPUs are far, far, _far_ more complex than even CPUs these days -- and the IP in the software even more so and closely tied. There is some open source GLX code out there for both ATI and nVidia -- but you're _never_ going to get the "cutting edge" under the model. -- Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@xxxxxxxx --------------------------------------------------------------------- It is mathematically impossible for someone who makes more than you to be anything but richer than you. Any tax rate that penalizes them will also penalize you similarly (to those below you, and then below them). Linear algebra, let alone differential calculus or even ele- mentary concepts of limits, is mutually exclusive with US journalism. So forget even attempting to explain how tax cuts work. ;-> -- fedora-devel-list mailing list fedora-devel-list@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list
