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Open Source Graphic Card Project Seeks Experts

Posted by timothy on from the will-more-cooks-help dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Could this dream of many open source developers and users finally happen? A 100% open sourced graphic card with 3D support? Proper 3D card support for OpenBSD, NetBSD and other minority operating systems? A company named Tech Source will try to make it happen. You can download the preliminary specs for the card here (pdf). The project, though a commercial one, wants to become a true community project and encourages experts and everyone who have good ideas to add to the development process to join the mailing list. You can also sign a petition and tell how much you would be willing to pay for the final product."

4 of 370 comments (clear)

  1. RTFA/RTFWS/RTFE! by reality-bytes · · Score: 5, Informative



    If you'd read-up on this subject, you'd have seen that these folk *do* know their hardware.

    They are also not being overly ambitious. While they expect to be able to develop a card which has 3D accelleration for desktop applications, they make no bold claims about gaming.

    Indeed, this card is being designed as the ideal desktop-card for open-source systems with open-source drivers and firmware. Any gaming performance, while unlikely, should be treated as a bonus.

    I have already pledged my intention to buy one of these cards just out of curiosity.

    --
    Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
  2. tech source isn't some n00b company... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    tech source makes graphics cards for sun microsystems computers, i've got a raptor in one of my ultrasparc10's. I'm sure they have some fabrication experience, just visit their website, they've got quite a few products.

  3. Re:Waste of time by wrecked · · Score: 5, Informative
    Remember, Tech Source is a boutique graphics card company, and the guy proposing this (Timothy Miller?) is a graphics card engineer.

    If you read the mailing list archive, you'll see that what they are proposing is a card with simple, OpenGL compatible 3D. The interface will be PCI at first. My impression is that they have mini-ITX boards in mind. The last paragraph of your post is correct: they will probably target commodity Linux (and significantly, BSD) boxes.

    I think that this is a great idea. Right now, if you want open source 3D, the only good hardware available is the Matrox G400/450/550 line, and that's over 5 years old. I bought my G450 in 1999 and am still using it quite happily, but I would certainly buy an open hardware card from Tech Source if this project comes to fruition.

    As someone on OSNews posted, this project could be profitable for a small company even if it would be considered a flop by ATI or Nvidia.

  4. Re:False logic by justins · · Score: 5, Informative
    It's like saying:

    "No, it's impossible to build a replacement for Microsoft Office. Do you realize how much time, how many thousands of man hours went into this software?"

    But there you go, Open Office is doing pretty well.

    Talk about "false logic." Open Office is doing pretty well because it has had a huge amount of time and money put into it over the years. By the way, it existed for many years as closed source before it became open source, even before Sun bought it.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarOffice

    And it's not anywhere near being ready to replace Microsoft Office, but I guess they've only had 10 years...
    --
    Now before I get modded down, I be to remind whoever might read this that what I am saying is FACT. - bogaboga