On Mon, 2004-05-17 at 10:23 -0600, Rodolfo J. Paiz wrote: > them to open-source their code. I am willing to buy those arguments as > being reasonable; so while I would *prefer* open-source and RPM, I can > *accept* closed-source and custom installer.
If you [...] accept a bad solution you'll hardly ever get the good one
An interesting debate. However, distilling the world down to black and white is simplistic, and any oversimplification is almost sure to cloud essential factors in the discussion. Getting excellent-quality closed-source drivers from NVIDIA is hugely better than getting no drivers at all, which is where we were a few years ago, and it helps Linux to move forward and be adopted more widely. It is not "bad" or "good"... but it is "better" than whatever we had before.
Hopefully in the future we will improve yet again, with such a strong Linux market presence that open-sourcing a driver becomes a competitive advantage instead of a disadvantage. Right now, they claim open-sourcing the full driver would help other makers sell more cards and would hurt them financially... and while you may not agree, they are entitled to make that choice. And I find it reasonable at this point in time.
Besides, *today* I have a computer in which the nv module sucks, and the nvidia module rocks. I'll be happy to help the folks who write the nv module by testing it and debugging it, but I'd be an idiot to bring my hardware to its knees by refusing to use the closed driver if it's the only one that works well for me. Better to use Windows! And anytime it's better to use Windows when you really want to use Linux, then surely that option is Not A Good Thing [tm].
Your option, and I advise against recommending it.
My option, and my opinion, and I'll advocate it as I damn well please, thank you very much.
Unfortunately, in this case as in others before, you propose drastic, life-or-death comparisons which I find unrealistic, simplistic, and implausible. Then you additionally go on to suggest that those who disagree with you keep their mouths shut. If you value freedom, why do you seek to silence anyone with a different opinion? If you value choice, why do you not respect the choices of others? Why must you have everything done Your Way?
Blindly advocating "Utopia or Death" and actually exerting an effort to suppress anyone who dares digress from the "UOD party line" serves only to brand you a radical, a zealot, and an ass. It destroys whatever credibility you might have earned in this community.
Why don't you try to create, suggest, and promote a way for things to improve, instead of just bitching about the current state of affairs? No sarcasm intended... I'd love to hear *useful*, *realistic*, and *productive* suggestions about how to improve this situation.
Cheers,
-- Rodolfo J. Paiz rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.simpaticus.com
