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Benjamin Grauer posted <4314E255.3040405@××××××××××××.ch>, excerpted |
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below, on Wed, 31 Aug 2005 00:48:53 +0200: |
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> i read on the absolutely lousy ati-page, that the new driver 8.16.20 now |
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> finally supports kernel2.6.12, but the package is not in portage... |
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Note that I'm not a developer, so won't address the question of when the |
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new driver might be in portage or why it isn't yet there. This post |
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addresses your other options. |
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One option would be to either switch out from the |
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--generally-agreed-lousy-supported-- ATI closed source drivers, to the |
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open source driver that comes with X, or, if you don't like that idea, to |
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switch out your video card to an NVidia, which while the open drives |
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aren't as quite as good as ATI's open drivers, their closed source |
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drivers are all around generally considered far better supported than |
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ATI's. |
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<strong-personal-opinion> |
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Personally, I refuse to run what I call "slaveryware", that is, drivers |
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that are closed source and therefore not "freedomware". However, I accept |
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that some gamers and the like are willing to live with closed source |
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drivers, preferring to live with the closed source aspect, in ordered to |
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get the hardware accelerated 3D frame-rates. While I consider such a |
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choice the equivalent of selling one's soul to the devil -- supporting a |
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company that refuses to open up their sources for /proper/ open source |
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support, that's a personal opinion that I realize others don't necessarily |
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share, and to force my opinion on others would be more rights violating |
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than the companies refusing to support open source. |
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|
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</strong-personal-opinion> |
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Anyway, if one /is/ going to go the closed source route anyway, almost |
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everybody agrees NVidia offers far better closed source driver support |
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than ATI, so that's the way to go, again, if you /must/ choose to run |
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closed source drivers. (FWIW, I run ATI Radeon 9200s here, since that's |
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the latest ATI hardware with full specs available, and therefore decent |
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open source accelerated 3D support.) |
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Of course, another viable option would be returning to a kernel <2.6.12. |
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Finally, since you say the new closed source drivers aren't in portage |
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yet, you have the option of installing them using ATI's install |
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procedure, and using package.provided to tell portage they are installed, |
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if anything else in portage requires them. |
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-- |
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Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. |
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"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- |
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and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman in |
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http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/12/22/rms_interview.html |
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-- |
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