Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open...

Techno_man · 11-24-09, 11:17 AM

Dear NVIDIA,

In this age a lot of companies are releasing their products with GPL license.
Now-a-days the benefits that Open source bring to everyone are known almost by any company. Today Microsoft announce that some products will be released with this license (some compilers).

I'm asking you:

"Is it the time for your drivers to be released with GPL license???"

Sorry for my ugly english...

Sincerely,
an italian Linux user.

artem · 11-24-09, 05:03 PM

Please, read this interview and forget about your wish.

It will not happen any time soon.

Arup · 11-24-09, 10:58 PM

Well the nouveau project is taking off good and by next year, it would be default in Lucid so there is hope for open source nvidia there.

xorbe · 11-30-09, 08:12 PM

it's amazing that CPUs are entirely and completely and totally documented, and GPUs are nearly the exact opposite, and neither are dying.

mike_hillman · 12-06-09, 05:31 PM

The interface to the linux kernel is open source. I could see why the software that runs the graphics chips and the other parts of the hardware would not be disclosed. How does the interface to the window systems and the interface to the physx chips in the graphics drivers change the overall disclosure of the software that runs the hardware. Is there a reason that more parts of the graphics driver can not be open source.

jesso · 12-06-09, 07:21 PM

Maybe there are some things worth keeping secret.

damentz · 12-07-09, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techno_man

Dear NVIDIA,

In this age a lot of companies are releasing their products with GPL license.
Now-a-days the benefits that Open source bring to everyone are known almost by any company. Today Microsoft announce that some products will be released with this license (some compilers).

I'm asking you:

"Is it the time for your drivers to be released with GPL license???"

Sorry for my ugly english...

Sincerely,
an italian Linux user.

They can't do that.

Look at the open source ati driver - they had create a driver from scratch because the code used in the proprietary driver cannot be relicensed or any unique optimizations would give an edge their competitors.

Personally, I wouldn't open source the nvidia binary either due to the previously stated. The best way is to start from scratch and have some developers hack at it in the open using the current standards. That is how AMD is doing it... but it sure is taking them ages to get simple 3D or 2D support to their new products (and old).

Ubuntaqua · 12-07-09, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damentz

They can't do that.

Look at the open source ati driver - they had create a driver from scratch because the code used in the proprietary driver cannot be relicensed or any unique optimizations would give an edge their competitors.

Personally, I wouldn't open source the nvidia binary either due to the previously stated. The best way is to start from scratch and have some developers hack at it in the open using the current standards. That is how AMD is doing it... but it sure is taking them ages to get simple 3D or 2D support to their new products (and old).

The Documentation published by ATI allows that. Most rants about nvidia and open source should focus on documents / specification. Not the binary itself.

personman · 12-07-09, 10:33 AM

In a recent interview, an NVIDIA linux developer commented on nouveau, saying they will neither hinder nor help with the development. I'm glad they aren't going to hinder, but I would like to see them help. My 2 cents...

I've been running nvidia hardware since the original geforce.

Edit: My laptops and my main PC's motherboard also use nvidia hardware.

-Andy

11-24-09, 11:17 AM	#1
Techno_man Registered User Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 10	Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open... Dear NVIDIA, In this age a lot of companies are releasing their products with GPL license. Now-a-days the benefits that Open source bring to everyone are known almost by any company. Today Microsoft announce that some products will be released with this license (some compilers). I'm asking you: "Is it the time for your drivers to be released with GPL license???" Sorry for my ugly english... Sincerely, an italian Linux user.

11-24-09, 05:03 PM	#2
artem Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 681	Re: Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open... Please, read this interview and forget about your wish. It will not happen any time soon.

11-24-09, 10:58 PM	#3
Arup Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 122	Re: Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open... Well the nouveau project is taking off good and by next year, it would be default in Lucid so there is hope for open source nvidia there.

11-30-09, 08:12 PM	#4
xorbe Unbuffered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 388	Re: Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open... it's amazing that CPUs are entirely and completely and totally documented, and GPUs are nearly the exact opposite, and neither are dying.

12-06-09, 05:31 PM	#5
mike_hillman Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	Re: Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open... The interface to the linux kernel is open source. I could see why the software that runs the graphics chips and the other parts of the hardware would not be disclosed. How does the interface to the window systems and the interface to the physx chips in the graphics drivers change the overall disclosure of the software that runs the hardware. Is there a reason that more parts of the graphics driver can not be open source.

12-06-09, 07:21 PM	#6
jesso Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 38	Re: Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open... Maybe there are some things worth keeping secret.

12-07-09, 10:33 AM	#9
personman Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Warren, Ohio Posts: 34	Re: Dear NVIDIA, please let your Linux drivers be open... In a recent interview, an NVIDIA linux developer commented on nouveau, saying they will neither hinder nor help with the development. I'm glad they aren't going to hinder, but I would like to see them help. My 2 cents... I've been running nvidia hardware since the original geforce. Edit: My laptops and my main PC's motherboard also use nvidia hardware. -Andy