Frank Cox wrote:
Nvidia and ATI's drivers aren't included in the box. They could be.
Not under the current licensing conditions, they can't be and won't be. Windows
Vista could also be included with every Fedora download; somehow I don't think
that will be done either.
Section 2.1.2 of
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nv_swlicense.html
would seem to imply otherwise.
Note that Fedora isn't the one who's imposing unacceptable conditions -- Nvidia
and ATI are the ones who are making the decisions in this regard. Fedora is
simply accepting them and everyone (including you and me and Nvidia and ATI)
deal with the consequences of Nvidia's and ATI's decisions.
No, fedora has their own policy.
> Personally, I
choose to deal with it by avoiding their products. You may choose to deal with
it by purchasing their products and jumping through hoops to make them work.
I deal with it by interacting with fedora mostly through a remote freenx
connection instead of fighting with the way it handles video directly.
My way is easier and may eventually have an impact on their sales if it catches
on.
Chicken, meet egg... It will have an impact on sales when enough people
use Linux desktops, which will only happen when the distributions make
it usable enough on popular hardware.
Or run an OS that respects its users enough to include the vendor's
drivers - which is what the majority do.
That is a valid choice for anyone to make. The wisdom of that choice depends
on the aims of the one making the decision.
As far as I know, the latest drivers for the latest video cards don't come
stock with Windows XP or Vista either. (I've never installed MS Windows on
anything so I could be wrong here, but it has always been my understanding that
they require a separate download.)
The usual practice is for the hardware vendor to deliver a machine with
windows and all the necessary drivers installed and tested. Many
vendors keep updates online for things they have sold so you have a
central place to find them. If you install replacement parts that
different or newer than your original purchase you might have to grab a
driver directly from the part vendor.
--
Les Mikesell
lesmikesell@xxxxxxxxx
