NVIDIA Licence Update (Linux Exception)

(startx) writes "I don't know how long this has been the case, but with the latest NVidia driver update comes a new installation method, which unifies the installation process almong all Linux distributions. Just for kicks I re-read the licence, and it has a new section labeled "2.1.2 Linux Exception" Basically GNU/Linux users are now free to redistribute the driver file. Not only this, but the FAQ section of the README file says you can redistribute in whatever form necessary, stating distributions are welcome to include it as a package as well. Woohoo!"

Comments

They seem to have a clue

[tunah]

This reinforces my impression of NVidia as a hardware company that knows it's a hardware company.

I was pleasantly surprised back when I got my new computer with a TNT2 that they provided nice (in my experience) fast 3D drivers. They haven't subscribed to the whole open-source/free software philosophy, they're just being smart. Giving source for their drivers may have some benefits, may have some costs, may not be possible for legal reasons. Giving away binary drivers makes sense - you're quite likely to influence a linux user's video card purchase with decent drivers. Making people download it from their website, or install it differently from any other package is just a pain in the ass and doesn't gain them anything.

There's no altruism here, just common sense. What's surprising is that so many big hardware manufacturers make things so hard.