Nvidia support for Linux UPDATED!

Posted by Greg Laden on June 19, 2012
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Linux inventer Linus Torvalds gave a talk recently at Aalto University in Finland. It is a very interesting talk that anyone involved in Open Source technology or computer software development would enjoy. During the talk, the issue of support for Linux from hardware manufacturers came up, and Linus had a comment for Nvidia, which it seems is not only non-supportive but maybe even anti-OpenSource. Linus’s comment is below the fold becuase it is not work safe:

If your browser does not support moving GIF’s then you may want to go to the source, here.

UPDATE: Nvidia has responded. They say everything is fine. See: NVIDIA PR Responds To Torvalds’ Harsh Words

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Comments

  1. #1 Marion Delgado
    June 19, 2012

    I second that emotion.

  2. #2 Ian Kemmish
    June 20, 2012

    If someone behaved that immaturely towards me, I would choose not to let him mess up my nice products either. It is, after all, a free country, even if Open Source advocates sometimes seem to wish it weren’t. On the basis of that clip, Mr Torvalds has only himself to blame.

  3. #3 Greg Laden
    June 20, 2012

    Ian, it isn’t the case that Linus gave Nvidia the finger before years of them messing around. Of all the people in the Linux-oriented OpenSource community, Torvalds is often the first to say that if OS developers don’t produce a product but the commercial sector does, then use the commercial product. (Instead of the purist approach which is to heat up a soldering iron and poke your own eyes out with it.)

  4. #4 Derpicus
    June 20, 2012

    Ian, go back to using your windows xp machine and browser with IE6. Seriously, die in a fire. Kthxbai.

  5. #5 Wow
    June 20, 2012

    Ian, the point is that NVidia are acting immaturely to Linux. Heck, to their customers.

    The difference being that you don’t consider their blase dismissal of a large section of their paying customers as immature.

  6. #6 Derpnation
    June 20, 2012

    What is funny is if you watch the whole video at the end he talks about this comment he made. He goes on to say he did it to get a reaction out of poeple, because the people that would be offended by this probably needed a nice little troll.

  7. #7 george.w
    Normal, IL
    June 21, 2012

    Note to Nvidia; everything is not fine. I bought a laptop with Nvidia video on it but didn’t really think about it before because I’d always had good results with my previous lapto – which had Intel video. it hadn’t occurred to me that video could be a problem. Well, lesson learned. Next laptop I will be VERY careful not to get Nvidia.

  8. #8 zedman2k
    RI
    June 21, 2012

    The bottom line is if Nvidia does not want to work with Linux then Linux users just stop using Nvidia.
    Simple fact your system will work faster w/o them for the lack of drivers.

  9. #9 MadScientist
    June 22, 2012

    Next time I make sure I get an AMD GPU (or even *yuck* – Intel). I have a 6800 GTX which is almost 6 years old already and the NVidia driver causes tearing and other artefacts. I just hope AMD doesn’t go all funny – years ago I used Matrox then they went bad, then NVidia because they had much better support than ATI, but now that ATI/AMD support a free driver (though they seem to be a bit slow to release support for any particular chip) I think AMD is the way to go.

  10. #10 Wow
    June 22, 2012

    Long term, definitely.

    And you get a double benefit: by being behind the curve you get more performance per dollar. Heck get two and run SLI and you’re faster than the next gen equivalent that costs three or four times as much as one midrange last-gen card!

  11. #11 Craig Talbert
    Denver, CO
    June 23, 2012

    Ian – I have read other criticism of this based on it’s like of “maturity” or “professionalism.” If you introspect for a moment, I think you’ll have to admit that there’s not much more substance to calling someone immature or unprofessional than there is to calling someone fat. All three are inherently subjective, not necessarily bad, and basically say “You’re not conforming to my desired norms.” When people’s desired norms are bad (counter-productive, anti-social, etc), not conforming to them may be a good thing.