On my machines both under F14 and F15 the cursor positions are displayed. vi is really vim. This could be set by a :set command but I can't find the right one when I looked quickly. On my machine as I said the correct option is set by default.
You can try :set all to find the option and place it in the .vimrc file in your home directory.
:set ruler is the command that does it. When I execute, :set noruler the curser display goes away.