[ILUG] OT: PCI TV tuner card for 50 bills

[Paul Jakma]

On Thu, 26 Feb 2004, Peter McEvoy wrote:

> I'd say it's a little harsh to say someones a wanker because they want
> to play games on their computer.

> It almost sounds like zealotry.

Wanting to play games is fine. Thats not what it's about.

When I started using Linux, it had already taken lots of lobbying by
Linux and XFree coders and users to get manufacturers to open up
specs just for 2D. Many XFree drivers were unstable, far from perfect
because of lack of specs (S3, Trident, etc..). But, the lobbying
started to pay off, the manufacturers started to get a clue, specs
became more available, getting a decent 2D XFree setup became less of
a chore. And with all the lobbying, some manufacturers even started
to make 3D specs freely available, eg Matrox with the MGA1064W and
then MGA2064W, later the G200. The Utah-GLX project led to the DRI
project, ATi gave specs for the Weather Channel to commission open
DRI drivers for the R100.

But at around the same time, linux started to get popular. Lots of
new user, utterly clueless as to the history came along and started
demanding that the manufacturers provide drivers, not specs to allow
open drivers to be written, just drivers. And so, slowly, one by one,
the manufacturers did what the (mostly) new and clueless users asked
for - provided drivers, not specs.

IIRC: Matrox started by offering a tiny HAL to enable dual-head on
G400, then NVidia i think for 3D, then ATi for 3D. We're at the stage
now where even 2D specs might no longer be available - NVidia dont
provide specs anymore, they provide completely obfuscated source
code.

So, no, it's not zealotry to get pissed off by lots of new users just 
blindly accepting binary drivers.

If a whole bunch of people come along and collectively piss in the
pool, then, yes, they are, collectively, wankers.

> Pete

regards,
-- 
Paul Jakma	paul at clubi.ie	paul at jakma.org	Key ID: 64A2FF6A
	warning: do not ever send email to spam at dishone.st
Fortune:
I've noticed several design suggestions in your code.