Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Trident Micro Update

Posted by michael on from the retrograde-advance dept.

grendelkhan writes: "According to Linux Today, Trident is denying that they are no longer supporting open source developers for XFree86." This message from Eich clarifies the events leading up to this. Looks like Trident chips will continue to be supported, one way or another.

1 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Not really clear... by chill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I read all of the above correctly...

    Trident's policy has been, and still is, to require an NDA. That NDA prohibits source code distribution of a driver based off information obtained under NDA. Apparantly, from the successful development of drivers for past Trident chipsets, this part wasn't enforced.

    Now, Trident seems to be enforcing that part -- by not providing information to XFree86 developers on the CyberBladeXP and CyberBladeXPm chipsets. The XFree86 developers wanted to amend the NDA to allow source distribution.

    Since there has been no change in the NDA, only in enforcement, Trident is claiming that they provide the same support as before. Technically, they do -- sign the NDA and provide binary-only drivers and they'll provide docs.

    So, if you support the idea of source code availability for video drivers, keep an eye on the graphics chipset used in your next potential laptop. If it is Trident, look elsewhere.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.