Modern videocards. Proprietary drivers

Hi,

Isn't it possible to upload/build a knoppix with modern drivers for videocards (Radeon 9x00 and NVidia GF4/GFFX series). Perhaps with proprietary drivers from the respective manufacturers website?

It's quite frustating to see Knoppix support the latest mainboards, cpus, networkcards etc. But Videocarddrivers severely lag behind although manufacturers do their best to provide appropriate drivers. Why not use them?

I mean ppl with P4 or modern AMD processors don't use TNT2 or ATI Rage II cards anymore.

Regards,

Manu T

I do...but that's beside the point. I think that the main problem with including the drivers with distributions is that these drivers are not open source and they don't have a licence that makes them redistributable.

According to ATI's website they fall under the license of XFree so I see no reason why they can't be distributed or included on the live CD. So on ATI's part I see no problem.

In the case of nvidia there is a distro (I believe gnoppix) who have their drivers on their live CD (Game CD). So why should that be a problem for Knoppix if Gnoppix have them?

Sorry but I just don't understand this. Those Radeon9x00 cards are several YEARS on the market now and there is STILL no support for them in the XFree-drivers that are included with most distros? The same with nvidiadrivers.

So IF those linux ppl really want to target the desktop then they MUST look into this. Because video performance is the 2nd most important performance factor in the desktop. Can't they see this?

In the case of knoppix. IMHO It's no use to build a distro if it doesn't support the 2nd most important part of the hardware. Especially if you want to showcase linux to attract more users into the platform. In that respect I'd rather want ROX and/or Enlightenment included as well. Especially since e.g. the latest KDE has a lot of eyecandy and surely could benefit from improved H/W usage.

Regards,

Manu T

> So IF those linux ppl really want to target the desktop then they MUST look into this. Because video performance is the 2nd most important performance factor in the desktop. Can't they see this?

Actually, the problem isn't with "those linux ppl"; the problem arises because hardware manufacturers refuse to open source their drivers, or release specifications to their hardware.

I believe that Klaus Knopper has gone on record that Knoppix will only have Free software. So no proprietary drivers, or might-be-infringing-patents packages such as MPlayer. Knopper is providing me with a wonderful and comprehensive operating system that can be installed to hard-disk in 10 minutes, out of his generosity. I, for one, am not going to complain.

Knoppix has led to a veritable sub-ecosystem of variants, some of which may include the software that you require. There's lots of choice here.