Seeking an edge over rivals ATI and Nvidia, the chipmaker has released open source graphics software
Intel has released open source software to give Linux fully-fledged support for 3D graphics, a move that could give its graphics chips a leg up over rivals.
Right now, Linux users typically rely on proprietary driver software if they want to use graphics acceleration chips and hardware to improve graphics performance — to speed up displays of 3D tanks in a battle video game, for example.
But this proprietary approach poses ethical, legal and practical problems. Intel sees the open source move as a way to attract customers to its graphics products — such as its upcoming 965 Express chipset — and give it an advantage over rivals ATI Technologies and Nvidia.
And one politically important ally, the Free Software Foundation, was delighted with Intel's move.
"It's a very important step in the evolution of the industry," said foundation attorney Eben Moglen, who is overseeing a revamp of the General Public License (GPL) that governs the Linux kernel. "The move that Intel has taken, toward making better interoperability with free operating systems by abandoning secrecy, is the sign of a new competitive approach."
More practically, Intel's move is well-timed to dovetail with Red Hat and Novell projects to build fancy graphical interfaces into Linux. The new interfaces, often referred to as "bling" and "eye candy", require 3D acceleration.
Repercussions
Peddie thinks it unlikely ATI or Nvidia will release open source drivers as a result of Intel's move. Details of the hardware interfaces for graphics chips are the "family jewels... and expose how the chip itself works," he said. "Nvidia doesn't want ATI to know that, and vice versa."
ATI didn't immediately comment on its plans, but Nvidia said it wouldn't change its approach as a result of Intel's move. "At this time, it does not make sense for us to open source our graphics drivers," Nvidia spokesman Brian del Rizzo said. "We are confident in our ability to provide our customers with the best graphics solutions possible."
But Michael Larabel, who runs the Phoronix Linux graphics site, believes there could be repercussions.
"Intel's move may cause Nvidia and ATI to rethink open sourcing some areas of their drivers, improving the level of support, or funnelling more resources to their Linux department," Larabel said.
And it will also certainly be watched closely at Intel's main Silicon Valley competitor, AMD, which in July announced plans to acquire ATI for $5.4bn. AMD has worked closely with open source programmers on several occasions, in adding Linux support for 64bit x86 chips and for AMD's virtualisation technology, for example.
"Ideally, if AMD is able to realise the potential of open source ATI Linux drivers, we could very well see GPL... drivers within the next few years," Larabel said.
Source: Intel lures customers with open source graphics - ZDNet UK News
Intel aims for open-source graphics advantage | Tech News on ZDNet
Intel has released open source software to give Linux fully-fledged support for 3D graphics, a move that could give its graphics chips a leg up over rivals.
Right now, Linux users typically rely on proprietary driver software if they want to use graphics acceleration chips and hardware to improve graphics performance — to speed up displays of 3D tanks in a battle video game, for example.
But this proprietary approach poses ethical, legal and practical problems. Intel sees the open source move as a way to attract customers to its graphics products — such as its upcoming 965 Express chipset — and give it an advantage over rivals ATI Technologies and Nvidia.
And one politically important ally, the Free Software Foundation, was delighted with Intel's move.
"It's a very important step in the evolution of the industry," said foundation attorney Eben Moglen, who is overseeing a revamp of the General Public License (GPL) that governs the Linux kernel. "The move that Intel has taken, toward making better interoperability with free operating systems by abandoning secrecy, is the sign of a new competitive approach."
More practically, Intel's move is well-timed to dovetail with Red Hat and Novell projects to build fancy graphical interfaces into Linux. The new interfaces, often referred to as "bling" and "eye candy", require 3D acceleration.
Repercussions
Peddie thinks it unlikely ATI or Nvidia will release open source drivers as a result of Intel's move. Details of the hardware interfaces for graphics chips are the "family jewels... and expose how the chip itself works," he said. "Nvidia doesn't want ATI to know that, and vice versa."
ATI didn't immediately comment on its plans, but Nvidia said it wouldn't change its approach as a result of Intel's move. "At this time, it does not make sense for us to open source our graphics drivers," Nvidia spokesman Brian del Rizzo said. "We are confident in our ability to provide our customers with the best graphics solutions possible."
But Michael Larabel, who runs the Phoronix Linux graphics site, believes there could be repercussions.
"Intel's move may cause Nvidia and ATI to rethink open sourcing some areas of their drivers, improving the level of support, or funnelling more resources to their Linux department," Larabel said.
And it will also certainly be watched closely at Intel's main Silicon Valley competitor, AMD, which in July announced plans to acquire ATI for $5.4bn. AMD has worked closely with open source programmers on several occasions, in adding Linux support for 64bit x86 chips and for AMD's virtualisation technology, for example.
"Ideally, if AMD is able to realise the potential of open source ATI Linux drivers, we could very well see GPL... drivers within the next few years," Larabel said.
Source: Intel lures customers with open source graphics - ZDNet UK News
Intel aims for open-source graphics advantage | Tech News on ZDNet