Re: [SLUG] Cheap'n good laptops for Linux

From: Levi Bard (taktaktaktaktaktaktaktaktaktak@gmail.com)
Date: Tue Nov 14 2006 - 15:20:42 EST


> Okay. I've been at this for a little while now. Maybe I'm being
> thick-headed, but what part of that might be immoral? The fact that
> they want to retain ownership of their code? Should all software
> producing companies be forced to share their code? Wouldn't that
> attitude support M$'s argument about Open Source supporting communism?

IMO the part that makes it immoral is that you NEED the driver in
order to use the hardware that you've purchased. Which means?
CompanyX goes out of business, my hardware stops working. CompanyX
decides they don't want to support my hardware, my hardware stops
working. CompanyX decides they want to force me to upgrade, my
hardware stops working.

With respect to NVidia specifically: I'm a Free Software advocate,
often rabidly so (no, that frothing at the mouth is only toothpaste, I
swear!). There are basically two companies producing usable consumer
3D chipsets right now: Ati and NVidia. Neither one of them offers
driver source (although iirc Ati has in the past). The difference is
that NVidia has consistently and dependably supported its hardware on
Free Software operating systems (including FreeBSD) and multiple
architectures. Ati, on the other hand, didn't have ANY driver for
64-bit GNU/Linux for at least two years after it became available
mainstream, and the default cards shipping in the majority of amd64
machines (laptops in particular) were Ati cards. Even now, their
drivers are buggy and difficult to install, even for people that know
what they're doing.

So, with the lack of a Free alternative, NVidia is the much more
Freedom-friendly distributor in spite of the lack of a Free driver.

-- 
Tcsh: Now with higher FPS!
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html
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