Advanced Micro Devices will release open-source driver software to improve Linux support for its ATI graphics chips and is contributing help and funding to outside programmers who are improving the driver, according to a Linux graphics expert.
AMD is sharing specifications, releasing source code of one software component, and funding programmer work on the project, said Michael Larabel of the Phoronix site, which measures Linux performance. AMD is working with Novell's Suse Linux programmers on the project, he said.
An AMD representative told CNET News.com that the company plans to release details later Thursday about its open-source driver strategy.
An open-source driver, though not as full-featured as the proprietary software the company already releases for Linux users, is a dramatic change for ATI and AMD. Historically, ATI has been cool at best on the idea of an open-source Linux driver. But proprietary drivers aren't just unpalatable to open-source purists; they also pose practical problems for software updates and other support issues.
In contrast, Intel began work on open-source graphics drivers for Linux in 2006. However, Nvidia, which like ATI chiefly sells standalone or "discrete" graphics chips, is still firmly in the proprietary camp.
Linux has reasonable support for 2D graphics, but 3D graphics are another story. That issue has come to a head with work to advance fancy desktop graphics on Linux.
ATI, the graphics chip business Advanced Micro Devices acquired, is planning to release new graphics drivers for Linux, and the move should provide a much-needed performance boost and a new open-source approach, one expert said Wednesday.
"The performance overall for the past sixteen months has been stagnant," said Michael Larabel, who runs the Phoronix site to monitor Linux graphics performance. He tested the driver and said the new 8.41 version will be available within the next week. "The new driver delivers massive performance improvements."
That's handy for the graphics wonks who want fancy 3D-graphics desktop effects through software such as AIGLX, Beryl and Compiz. Drivers let operating systems communicate with hardware, but with ATI's proprietary drivers, open-source programmers have been beholden to ATI.
Perhaps more significantly, AMD could be following Intel's open-source graphics driver. "In the near future, AMD will be making an announcement about accelerating efforts within the open-source community," Larabel said. Depending on how far AMD goes, that could make Nvidia the odd man out when it comes to staying proprietary.
AMD plans to make an announcement Thursday regarding "open-source drivers for their graphics cards," according to press invitation Wednesday, but the invitation offered no further details.
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