Re: X on new G4 Dual 533
Peter Cordes wrote:
>
> On Thu, May 31, 2001 at 08:14:18AM -0600, Pete Willemsen wrote:
> > Hi. I'm also very new to Linux on a PPC. Is it expected that these
> > newer PPCs with nvidia cards will actually have accelerated graphics
> > support via X at some point in the future? For instance, will nvidia be
> > release PPC-based Linux drivers? Something like this would solidify my
> > purchase of a new G4.
>
> I was thinking the other day that the GPL should require Nvidia to release
> source for their kernel module, if not libGL, etc. The tarball comes with
> some GPL source code and a binary file. The build process links the GPL'ed
> code and the binary file. You can download an rpm of the resulting linked
> file. Since GPLed code is linked in (thus putting the whole thing under the
> GPL), and they are distributing binaries, don't they have to distribute the
> whole source?
>
> Note that this is a different argument from saying that binary-only kernel
> modules can't be allowed because the GPL (which they must be under to be
> linked into the kernel) requires availability of source.
>
> Nvidia's case is special because they provide precompiled binaries that
> come from (partly, and therefore totally) GPL sources, as well as some of
> the GPLed source (which is how we know that the code is GPL). They are
> trying to have their cake and eat it too, by releasing source for a wrapper
> around their main driver, so they only need to compile the binary for a few
> popular distributions, and let people with custom kernels do it themselves.
> I think it would have worked if the wrapper had been under the X license or
> pretty much anything other than the GPL!
>
> Thanks Nvidia... I think. I hope I'm right about this.
Sorry, they're following exactly Linus' idea of how to distribute binary-only
kernel modules.
They claim they can't release source or specs even if they wanted because it's
not all their intellectual property.
--
Earthling Michel Dänzer (MrCooper) \ Debian GNU/Linux (powerpc) developer
CS student, Free Software enthusiast \ XFree86 and DRI project member
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