Nvidia, Intel, and clout

[M.Hockings]

Bill Gradwohl wrote:
> I've been on this list since early FC1, and Nvidia issues appear to be a 
> major problem area. I have no need for high end graphics as all the 
> Linux boxes we do are servers, so I've simply avoided the Nvidia 
> problems by not purchasing their products. I doubt Nvidia has notices 
> any decrease in sales on my account.
> 
> Now that Intel has struck a deal with Nvidia, it appears that the Linux 
> community is going to see even more issues as more MOBO's come equipped 
> with Nvidia chips.
> 
> As a community, can't we influence Nvidia to cooperate in driver 
> development to resolve these issues for the unfortunates that have 
> innocently encountered this stumbling block on the road to Linux 
> deployment? There was a time when Linux in general wasn't a major 
> player, but that time is long gone. Linux now has clout, and 
> straightening out the Nvidia problems may be the venue to exercise it. 
> It might also send a signal to other problem vendors that not 
> cooperating will have $$$ consequences.
> 
> Trade papers like Computer Reseller News, Infoweek, E-Week, etc. 
> regularly report on Linux, so why not give them an article that 
> factually portrays Nvidia issues in an attempt to "influence" Nvidia's 
> sales. If the Fedora Project were to put out a press release stating 
> their concerns the major publications would likely print it, and 
> purchasers could be better informed leading to fewer problems on this 
> list, happier end users, and lowered sales for Nvidia.

I, for one, bought a Nvidia 3D card for my Linux box after some research 
that concluded that even though Nvidia's driver is closed-source it 
would give me better/easier 3D than finding the right ATI (or other) 
card that _might_ give some 3D.  By simply following the instructions on 
their Web site I had it up and running in no time.  Works great.

Based on that success the 3D card for our Windows gaming box was, yup, 
an even bigger Nvidia card.

Even without the closed source Nvidia driver the base nv driver that 
comes with FC1 seems to work just fine.  So other than the open-source 
vs closed-source argument I fail to see what the problem is.  From the 
end-user point of view I'm a happy gamer...

Mike