avoid Intel GMA 600 more than you avoid GMA 500

[Christopher Browne]

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 12:37 PM, D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org>
wrote:
>
> I saw an open-box Atom-based HP tablet for a not-unreasonable price.  So I
> went to investigate what an HP Slate 2 Tablet is.
>
> I found something that makes it very not interesting.  Its video chip is
> the Intel GMA 600.  That, like the infamous GMA 500, is based on the
> "PowerVR" from Imagination Technologies.  As such, Intel doesn't seem to
> be in control of the drivers.  But apparently the result is even worse
> that for the GMA 500.  Not only is Linux left in the lurch, but so is
> Win8, Android, and to a lesser extent, even Win7.
>
> Read message 7 in this thread <http://communities.intel.com/thread/29943>
>
> It suggests that Apple has some sort of exclusive license that precludes
> anything getting better for the GMA 600.  Of course such agreements are
> confidential, but the behaviour of Intel seems to support this guess.


So, what *is* supposed to be able to run well on these tablets?

It sounds as though *no* operating system is supportable.

- An HP tablet isn't going to run iOS, because Apple has long been out of
the relicensing biz
- Sounds like *all* versions of Windows are left in the lurch
  - Windows 7 isn't optimized, and HP presumably doesn't have drivers for
that
  - Ditto for Windows 8
- Possibly Android might work, though graphics wouldn't be impressive
- At one time they cared about WebOS, tho not these days...

There's not enough driver information available for Linux to get X11 (or
Wayland ;-)) working
well (or perhaps at all?), and presumably Google is just as "screwed"
vis-a-vis getting Android
(or ChromeOS, no doubt) working on it.

And this is quite incredibly dumb on Intel's part, as it makes it harder
for them to sell it.

If this is what Apple's using in iPads, then I suppose it's not troublesome
to them, as long
as they have a deal going so that they have deep access to drivers so it's
supportable for
them.

Nonetheless, it means that nobody should regard GMA 600 as a viable
product, whether
it's us, as Linux-preferring folk, or HP (who would presumably be happy
selling GMA 600
to run Android or Windows 8 on it), or [pick your other favorite tablet
builder].
-- 
When confronted by a difficult problem, solve it by reducing it to the
question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?"
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