Technology Liberation Front - Latest Comments in ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

Re: ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

Sythem — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:46:16 -0000

I'm new to linux and would love using it for everything. Heck, every game I own is supported under linux in some way (Some native, some with wine, a few would need cedega) but I really don't have the option b/c of ATI's drivers. Enemy Territory Get's 50FPS in a section where Windows ATI drivers get 80FPS, not to mention that windows allows for a 20-25% performance increase ontop of that when I overclock. I don't care if they open source or they get their act together and optomize their drivers. I just want to be able to drop winders for an operating system that acctually get's better more than once ever 5 years. (I'm not bashing XP, if fact I'm quite happy with it. It just can't do some of the things I feel Microsoft owes us like clustering and decent networking that doesn't kill me every time I try to do anything *98 was better than XP in networking, I thought it was supposed to be the other way around*) But for now, I guess I'll just use linux as a server.

Re: ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

Luis Villa — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:02:01 -0000

It might be worth noting that there is a persistent rumor in the open source community that NVidia and ATI rampantly infringe each other's patents in ways that would be obvious if the source code to their drivers were available, leading them to keep their drivers closed. Just another aspect of this, if true.

Re: ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

Jim Lippard — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:32:20 -0000

My primary OS, OpenBSD, doesn't use "binary blobs" from vendors. This example shows how bad the resulting code can be when you're forced to rely on such blobs.

Re: ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

Noel Le — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:52:23 -0000

Thats an intersting comparison between encryption and DRM Tim.

About ATI, can't you just go use another product. The concept of substitutions is something we learn in life. If you can't have one thing, go to the next or find something better.

If everyone reacts the way you do, then ATI will be forced to open source its drivers. And if it does so because of market pressure, great...

Perhaps ATI is gaining something by the "bad policy regime" you speak of. You can't just go to a company and say "you have to consider my interests and rights in designing your products; right now you're not because bad policy allows you to follow your own interests."

I wrote a bit about seeking substitutions because of fragmented (non-interoperable) DRM systems: http://weblog.ipcentral.inf....

To summarize the LECG researchers:
***Acknowledging that fragmented DRM schemes not only prevent price reducation but also limit the value of products for consumers, the researchers point out the ease enabled by low switching costs between different proprietary brands. 17. They note that users often buy several different DRM solutions at once, as content owners often release their content in many different formats. 18.***

Re: ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

Tim Lee — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 15:15:26 -0000

Noel, I don't blame ATI for pursuing their self-interest. I blame the bad policy regime that gives ATI the incentives to behave that way.

And as I explained here, anyone pushing "open source DRM" is selling snake oil.

Re: ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

Noel Le — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:45:40 -0000

ATI Technologies needs some incentive to open source its drivers. Hey, you can't hate a company for not doing what you want it to, unless you appeal to its self-interest (not your own).

So, what do you fellas think of open source DRM. I'm not inclined to say they're "fundementally" at odds. www.drmwatch.com/drmtech/ar...

Re: ATI: Open Source Not Welcome

MikeT — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:43:59 -0000

It says a lot about whose interests you really serve when the right to tinker as a hobbyist is considered a competitive threat to business that must be stamped out...