[HN Gopher] A Nouveau graphics driver update
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       A Nouveau graphics driver update
        
       Author : chmaynard
       Score  : 34 points
       Date   : 2023-12-01 22:02 UTC (58 minutes ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (lwn.net)
 (TXT) w3m dump (lwn.net)
        
       | calvinmorrison wrote:
       | There are a number of disadvantages too, though. The firmware
       | provides no stable ABI, and a lot of the calls it provides are
       | not documented. The firmware files themselves are large, in the
       | range of 20-30MB, and two of them are required for any given
       | device. That significantly bloats a system's /boot directory and
       | initramfs image (which must provide every version of the firmware
       | that the kernel might need), and forces the Nouveau developers to
       | be strict and careful about picking up firmware updates.
       | 
       | Is 20-30Mb of /boot space really a concern for someone running an
       | nvidia graphics card?
        
       | fny wrote:
       | I still don't understand why it's so damn hard to use a NVIDIA
       | GPU on Linux vs Windows. The NVIDIA drivers are closed source for
       | both. Once deep learning took off, I expected things to change,
       | but the other day I tried to install drivers for a new card and
       | my Bluetooth and WiFi stopped working.
        
         | smoldesu wrote:
         | The main difference is probably that Linux has a dozen+
         | desktops and (even ideally) multiple desktop implementations to
         | support. Windows has just one, and they update it continuously
         | (not to say it works perfectly either).
         | 
         | In the end, Windows has more users that report bugs on fewer
         | setups. That makes fixing things much easier than Linux.
        
         | tedunangst wrote:
         | The driver API in the windows kernel changes about once a
         | decade. And they're not actively hostile to loading closed
         | source drivers.
        
       | axlee wrote:
       | What exactly is the issue with proprietary drivers? They ship the
       | hardware, they ship the driver(s). That's their problem. They
       | probably want people to be able to use their cards. Why fight
       | this battle?
       | 
       | If Nvidia wants to lose Linux users by not shipping drivers, let
       | them fall, but I don't see the point in badly replicating drivers
       | and making them "open-source". You still bought the GC from
       | BigCorp, and only Nvidia can make those cards anyway: this "open-
       | source" driver can't exist without Nvidia making cards. Who
       | benefits from all that work?
        
         | dralley wrote:
         | Open source drivers can be shipped in the mainline kernel.
         | Drivers that ship in the mainline kernel, are 1000% less of a
         | pain in the ass.
        
         | vlovich123 wrote:
         | If that were the case, we'd have almost no HW support on Linux.
         | The Linux kernel doesn't have a stable API nor ABI which means
         | the only way to get meaningful HW support is to mainline the
         | driver. DKMS helps a bit in "stabilizing" but it has it's
         | warts.
        
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       (page generated 2023-12-01 23:00 UTC)