* Ricardo Ramalho rjsr@netcabo.pt [2004-02-18 20:14:31 -0000]:
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The binary driver thing "problem" is one and one only. The whole system is open. Why should it be closed for drivers? Those drivers would use code written with the hard work of others... It's not fair. Why shouldn't they give the driver's code?
100% ACK.
But I can understand companies, which are forced to publish only binary drivers because of domestic contracts with third parties (i.e. nvidia is in this bad situation). I dont like the idea of propretiary kernel drivers or root-only applications - for example they're big security problems.
btw: nvidia has found a moderate way of the trouble: they've written a small opensource stub driver, which loads the real binary driver and dispatches the calls to its own binary interface.
You could also write generic driver interfaces / ABIs for many device types if you like / feel you require them. Of course this forbids many compiler optimizations and so slows down a little bit in comparison with "native" opensource drivers - but winnt has the same problem.
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You seem to hate Linux with all your nerves. You grow up. No system is perfect! Some are better on some respects... Some are better on others. We should all learn with what others do.
Some people here are immensely *arrogant*! That's NOT good for the project. Regardless of the quality of their work.
ACK. We've got the same problems in the mplayer project ... seems to be a quite normal illness of coders ;-)
cu