X and Eye Candy

[Evan Leibovitch]

D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:

>This isn't just philosophical.  One of the things I like about Linux
>is that devices seem to be supported, in a realistic sense, well past
>when the manufacturer is no longer interested in them.  In a
>theoretical sense, forever (but this may require an unreasonable
>amount of self-help).
>  
>
If the binary drivers are freely copyable then they will be around
forever, able to work with X servers that don't change the interface.
However, you offer a hint at something here...

>Old ATI cards have open drivers that can do 3d.  This is not the case for newer ATI cards nor for nVidia cards.
>
ATI makes no new money off old cards, neither does nVidia. The
proprietary edge that they must keep on current cards has a finite life.
One would hope that as the next generation of cards is available, source
for the no-longer-sold ones will be opened. This tactic has a reasonable
chance of success and is a reasonable middle ground.

- Evan

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