OT: Accelerated 3D GFX cards with Free drivers (was Re: [linux-audio-user] Re: The best distro for music creation)

[Ross Vandegrift]

On Thu, Dec 15, 2005 at 04:03:34AM +0000, cmetzler at speakeasy.net wrote:
> It not only won't give you insane framerates, it won't give you
> livable framerates on a lot of stuff.

Well, remember that the card doesn't have a hardware geometry engine
for transform and lighting.  Of course it's going to be slow on a lot
of cutting edge stuff.

If that's the issue, see Lee's comment about free software and
priorities that started this dicussion.

> But don't bother mentioning any of
> the above to Matrox -- they'll simply tell you that however free their
> drivers may be, OpenGL is *not supported in Linux*, and any OpenGL
> problems you have, you're on your own.  That right there is a
> showstopper.  I bought a Matrox card *because* of the open drivers;
> when their response to my hard lockup problems was "we don't support
> OpenGL on Linux", I ended up feeling like I'd been taken.

Heh, I think you misunderstand how free drivers work.  You're caught
up in the Windows model.  Here's how it works (more or less) on
Windows:

1) Hardware vendor writes a driver some API MS provides
2) You communicate with hardware vendor for support of the driver,
which may or may not work well.

Free software drivers work like this:

1) Vendor provides a sample implementation or hardware documentation
to someone or some organization
2) That individual (who usually has nothing to do with the
manufacturer!) produces a driver
3) You communicate to the hardware vendor and they say "WTF, we didn't
write that dude...", AND THEY ARE RIGHT


In the Windows case, I understand why you'd expect to get help from
the vendor.

In the free software driver case, I don't really see why you would
expect that.

-- 
Ross Vandegrift
ross at lug.udel.edu

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
	--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37