RE: What I recently did regarding software freedom.
fedora-list-admin(a)redhat.com wrote:
Don Levey wrote:
> J. B. Nicholson-Owens wrote:
>
>> Matt H wrote:
>>
>>> That's nice to hear. But, you're avoiding the point... Someone
>>> installs Fedora, they /already/ own an NVIDIA card. This person
>>> wants 3D acceleration, which makes sense. Now, do you tell them,
>>> "NVIDIA sucks, go buy a different card." Or, do you tell them how
>>> to install the driver?
>>
>> I can tell you what I've already done: I pointed a local man to an
>> inexpensive card (just under $60) that does 3-D graphics well and
>> works with the latest XFree86 out of the box, then I explained to
>> him why software freedom is important (and thus why I'm
>> recommending he steers clear of any hardware, no matter who the
>> manufacturer is, that can't be operated with non-free software).
>> He took my advice, bought a suitable video card and is now enjoying
>> playing 3D games like Armagetron, Tux Racer, and 2D games including
>> Frozen Bubble.
>>
>> My experience is that a lack of software freedom is quite
>> impractical.
>
>
> Two questions:
> 1) Which card would this be?
> 2) How does this help the person who already has the NVIDIA card,
> apart from getting them to spend another $60?
>
> -Don
To answer your question, download the drivers from Nvidia and follow
the instructions.
Well, that doesn't actually answer the questions. I want to know how
recommending that someone go out and buy a new video card helps someone who
already HAS a card and wants to get it to work.
It would be nice if manufacturers would support Linux with Open
Software but we have to understand that any support is better than
nothing.
True. I think that the vendors won't bother untin such time as Linux
becomes a significant portion of the market, and moves beyond the realm of
geekdom. Somewhere beyond Macs, for example.
On this note, I have found no problems with Nvidia in comparison to
ATI. ATI says they support Linux and even provide drivers. The
problem is that until you start having problems do you find out that
their drivers don't really support Linux by using all the features of
the card or even basic features like 3D on many of their cards with
their drivers. I know from experience with a new 9600. Nvidia up and
running in less than 2 hours from time of paying for the card. To
answer your question, download the drivers from Nvidia and follow the
instructions. Nvidia FX5600
I know the experience. I have the 9600 from ATI, and have not gotten
anything like 3D from it. The glxgears program gives me an average of
100fps. Feh.
Now the Nvidia drivers are closed source but they are free.
To avoid confusion amongst some, it might be better to call them
"no-cost."
But had I known the difficulties I would have had, I'd have opted for
something else (even an Nvidia). I checked for linux drivers on the ATI
website before I bought the thing...
It is unfortunate that to work with Linux it may mean purchasing a
new
piece of hardware. At least Linux will still work on a P90, try that
with Windows XP.
And that was the thrust of my comment. While it may be useful in the long
run, advising someone to buy something else doesn't help the perception of
linux or open software one iota.
--
-Don