Spotlight | Reviews | Current Issue | Newsletter | Subscribe | Contact |
Departments

user friendly

  linuxpromagazine.com » Online » News » Nvidia Says No to Open Source Driver  

Print this page. Recommend
Slashdot it! Delicious Digg

Nvidia Says No to Open Source Driver

Nvidia has turned down requests for an Open Source graphics driver.

"Nvidia supports Linux, as well as the Linux community and has long been praised for the quality of the Nvidia Linux driver. Nvidia's fully featured Linux graphics driver is provided as binary-only because it contains intellectual property Nvidia wishes to protect, both in hardware and in software," was the graphics card vendor's response to the kernel developers' petition against closed source drivers.

The kernel developers stated that closed source drivers harmed the Linux ecosystem. Nvidia disagrees, stating that it has its own kernel development team. Nvidia does not expect other kernel developers to help out with debugging Nvidia's kernel modules. On top of this, the kernel interface layer for the closed driver is structured to allow free access to the Linux specific code it contains.

(Jan Rähm)

Comments


Print this page. Recommend
Slashdot it! Delicious Digg
Rikki's Open Source Exchange

Stop by Rikki's Open Source Exchange for dispatches from the world of women in open source.

Rikki Kite examines the experience of women across the spectrum of open source –
the people, projects, organizations, events, articles, issues, and news.

more...

 

In the US and Canada, Linux Magazine is known as Linux Pro Magazine.
Entire contents © 2008 [Linux New Media USA, LLC]
Linux New Media web sites:
North America: [Linux Pro Magazine]
UK/Worldwide: [Linux Magazine]
Germany: [Linux-Magazin] [LinuxUser] [EasyLinux] [Linux-Community] [Linux-Nachrichten] [Linux Events]
Eastern Europe: [Linux Magazine Poland] [Linux Community Poland] [Darmowe Programy Poland] [Open Source DVD Poland] [Linux Magazin Romania]
International: [Linux Magazine Brazil] [Linux Magazine Spanish]
Corporate: [Linux New Media AG]