Fedora Core 6 HUGE problem

Les Mikesell lesmikesell at gmail.com
Tue May 29 01:50:08 UTC 2007


Frank Cox wrote:
> 
>> Nvidia and ATI's drivers aren't included in the box.  They could be.
> 
> Not under the current licensing conditions, they can't be and won't be.  Windows
> Vista could also be included with every Fedora download; somehow I don't think
> that will be done either.

Section 2.1.2 of
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nv_swlicense.html
would seem to imply otherwise.

> Note that Fedora isn't the one who's imposing unacceptable conditions -- Nvidia
> and ATI are the ones who are making the decisions in this regard.  Fedora is
> simply accepting them and everyone (including you and me and Nvidia and ATI)
> deal with the consequences of Nvidia's and ATI's decisions.

No, fedora has their own policy.

 > Personally, I
> choose to deal with it by avoiding their products.  You may choose to deal with
> it by purchasing their products and jumping through hoops to make them work.

I deal with it by interacting with fedora mostly through a remote freenx 
  connection instead of fighting with the way it handles video directly.

> My way is easier and may eventually have an impact on their sales if it catches
> on.

Chicken, meet egg... It will have an impact on sales when enough people 
use Linux desktops, which will only happen when the distributions make 
it usable enough on popular hardware.

>> Or run an OS that respects its users enough to include the vendor's 
>> drivers - which is what the majority do.
> 
> That is a valid choice for anyone to make.  The wisdom of that choice depends
> on the aims of the one making the decision.
> 
> As far as I know, the latest drivers for the latest video cards don't come
> stock with Windows XP or Vista either.  (I've never installed MS Windows on
> anything so I could be wrong here, but it has always been my understanding that
> they require a separate download.)

The usual practice is for the hardware vendor to deliver a machine with 
windows and all the necessary drivers installed and tested.  Many 
vendors keep updates online for things they have sold so you have a 
central place to find them.  If you install replacement parts that 
different or newer than your original purchase you might have to grab a 
driver directly from the part vendor.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com




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