Print this page. Recommend
Slashdot it! Delicious Digg

ATI Wants Open Source Drivers

Sep 07, 2007

Following speculation about the graphics card vendor ATI and a free Linux driver, a company representative has now confirmed that ATI will be placing the specifications of the R500 under an NDA.

Initially, there were rumors that ATI was planning new, proprietary drivers that promised considerable speed advantages. Just a short time later, an AMD spokesperson confirmed that the R500 graphics chip specification and Open Source libraries were being released to kernel developers under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). ATI owners AMD are also revealing the basics of the driver. A working 2D driver should be available around the end of this year, although 3D support will take slightly longer.

Shortly after AMD acquired ATI for US$ 5.4 billion in October 2006 there were various rumors about an open driver for the graphics cards.

(Jan Rähm)

Comments


Print this page. Recommend
Slashdot it! Delicious Digg
Related Articles
Linux Graphics Survey: NVIDIA Leads, Intel Catching Up
AMD Publishes R600 and R700 3D Code
Open and Closed Source: New Drivers by ATI and Nvidia
Cebit 2008: Lenovo Mid-Cap Survey on Green IT
Driver Patch Reduces ATI Graphics Power Consumption
Chip Manufacturer AMD Announces Job Losses
ApacheCon US video archive

All about Apache in 19 talks

Watch 19 talks from the ApacheCon US in New Orleans from the convenience of your home or office. Topics are: Scaling Apache 2.x in all dimensions, Securing Communications with your Apache HTTP Server, Scripting your Java Application with BSF 3.0 and much more.

Find out more

 

In the US and Canada, Linux Magazine is known as Linux Pro Magazine.
Entire contents © 2009 [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]