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tlmiller
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 Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2025 11:05 pm Post subject: Latest ATI Linux drivers seem to work!! |
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| I just updated both my sidux and my Arch on my system that has an ATI X1900XT graphics card. Tried out the ATI drivers on both, and they're both working!! First time I've ever had the proprietary drivers work from ATI.
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Germ
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tlmiller
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2025 11:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Since switching to Linux, I've reversed my opinion on that for the obvious reason of having no 3d on ATI drivers, while having perfectly functioning 3d on everything Nvidia. However, just finished playing a bit of Nexuiz at 1680x1050 and was getting like a billion frames per second...so I'm happy right now with ATI.
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mr_ed
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2025 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Didn't ATI have some sort of commitment to opensource drivers recently? How well is that coming to pass?
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masinick
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Joined: 03 Apr 2025
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Location: Concord, NH
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2025 3:46 pm Post subject: Any recent announcements? |
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| mr_ed wrote: | | Didn't ATI have some sort of commitment to opensource drivers recently? How well is that coming to pass? |
That is all part of the AMD/ATI association, isn't it? Both companies seem committed to the open community more than in the past. I have not seen any recent news about any efforts that have been produced, but based on Tim's comments, it sounds like progress has already been made on providing better drivers that work with open software. Haven't seen any recent announcements though. |
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tlmiller
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| Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2025 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah, the opensource drivers are "radeonhd". They work GREAT for 2d, and multiple monitors are working in them. However, they only work with X1xxx+, and provide no 3d. These are the latest version of the proprietary drivers that ATI/AMD still releases. I could really care less WHERE I get the drivers though. I'm an open source advocate, but if something is released freely and is done well (such as building the kernel module in the executeable so that it supports any kernel), then I have nothing against proprietary software. ATI's was always previously just the perfect example of what was WRONG with proprietary drivers. They were unstable, and sometimes didn't even WORK at all.
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jbilas
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masinick
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| Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2025 1:20 am Post subject: Some options for selling software |
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I am not fundamentally against proprietary software, nor do I believe, as Richard Stallman does, that ALL software should have freely provided source code. In some cases, such as government and top secret applications, sharing code would be downright compromising. But even in the commercial sector, nothing wrong with proprietary software, though I certainly promote and encourage the use of as much shared software as possible, where sharing means to share the source code.
Perhaps another model might be that I will share my code with you, but you have to pay me for it, and if you want complete and unrestricted access to it then you have to pay me a hefty fee. The model for free software is that I make the code available. I can sell it, but the rule is that if I make the code available, any changes that you make for personal use are fine, they are yours. Any changes made for commercial use must also have the code shared. You may then sell it as well. When I sell it or you sell it, that price may be whatever the market will bear, but realistically, it should be the reasonable price of either selling the media plus any production costs, but no more than that. |
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angus77
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| Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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Except that Richard Stallman _doesn't_ believe that ALL software should have freely provided source code---only software that gets _distributed_. Which rules out government and top secret applications.
As for the proprietary ATi drivers---they always send my monitor into a garbaged mess. Even the Catalyst 8.12, which I just tried out the other day. The open radeon driver works decently---I can get Compiz to work (which I don't really use anyways). I haven't managed to get the radeonhd driver to work at 1680X1050 yet, if that is indeed possible.
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masinick
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Location: Concord, NH
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| Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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| tlmiller wrote: | | Since switching to Linux, I've reversed my opinion on that for the obvious reason of having no 3d on ATI drivers, while having perfectly functioning 3d on everything Nvidia. However, just finished playing a bit of Nexuiz at 1680x1050 and was getting like a billion frames per second...so I'm happy right now with ATI. |
See, I guess this is why some people have a thing about super duper graphics cards. They want a billion frames per second, or a trillion, if they could get it! Me? If it helped me SEE a lot better, maybe. But about my only use for high resolution graphics is an occasional video.
I suppose that if I got a 37" screen, hooked it up for football, basketball, hockey, and baseball games, and used it as my monitor from a small infrared keyboard, while lounging at my recliner (none of which I have) I could make a case for this, and do my Linux reviews from an easy chair. As it is, I do have a velour swivel chair and a laptop, but 17" is the largest laptop, and you KNOW that thing usually is not in my lap!  |
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tlmiller
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| Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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| masinick wrote: | | tlmiller wrote: | | Since switching to Linux, I've reversed my opinion on that for the obvious reason of having no 3d on ATI drivers, while having perfectly functioning 3d on everything Nvidia. However, just finished playing a bit of Nexuiz at 1680x1050 and was getting like a billion frames per second...so I'm happy right now with ATI. |
See, I guess this is why some people have a thing about super duper graphics cards. They want a billion frames per second, or a trillion, if they could get it! Me? If it helped me SEE a lot better, maybe. But about my only use for high resolution graphics is an occasional video.
I suppose that if I got a 37" screen, hooked it up for football, basketball, hockey, and baseball games, and used it as my monitor from a small infrared keyboard, while lounging at my recliner (none of which I have) I could make a case for this, and do my Linux reviews from an easy chair. As it is, I do have a velour swivel chair and a laptop, but 17" is the largest laptop, and you KNOW that thing usually is not in my lap! |
Not unless you like having flat legs. Good to hear it at least has been working well for you. God knows it should, got so little usage from it's previous owner. 
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masinick
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| Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2025 11:38 pm Post subject: Yeah, that BEAST is a mobile DESKTOP system! |
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I use that beast as a DESKTOP, and it has been getting WAY more use than the Dell Dimension 4100, which only gets used now because it has had so much of my stuff on it for so long, but is DEFINITELY being phased out. Mostly my kids use it to visit YouTube and play music and play online games.
Karsten, my eight year old, has been using the Gateway recently - I put Vector Linux on it and made only a karsten user account and he was thrilled to death with that! I've been doing mostly antiX and SimplyMEPIS testing on it otherwise, and this week, I started testing sidux on it.
Overall, I use the D600 the most, after my WORK T60, which by far I'm on more than anything else. I have the Lenovo Y410 in my bedroom. I was testing with it a lot before I got the Gateway, but mostly test with the PA6A now. The D600 gets the stable every day stuff - XP, sidux with ordinary updates (from the 2025-04-5 "Christmas Edition"), and SimplyMEPIS. I keep my Email in the Iceape instance on the sidux partition. |
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I'm glad to hear that. I much prefer ATI to nVidia.
