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Mesa 10.5 Updates Open-Source Graphics Drivers
An anonymous reader writes Mesa 10.5 has been released to update the open-source Linux graphics driver stack. This quarterly update to Mesa has initial support for Intel's next-generation Skylake graphics, Qualcomm Adreno A4xx support, EGL support on the BeOS-inspired Haiku, the new NIR intermediate representation, and other changes. While new GL4 extensions were implemented, the Intel/Radeon/Nouveau drivers only have enough support right now to expose OpenGL 3.3, but GL4.2 is expected out of the open-source drivers by the end of the year.
> Windows is only slightly ahead of Linux. Mac OS X is the closest, but even it never had the panache that BeOS had. BeOS was one of a kind. It was The Best.
You know, when I leave home to work, I think how fortunate I am to be forced to use Windows there; I don't have to endure Linux like I do at home. Yep. Lucky me.
I'll have to believe you that BeOS is great, because when I wanted to test it, it had some idiot limitations which made it a big turn off. Not copulating at all.
And that is what happens to most big things which would rather die than go GPL and at least be useful to many in a kind of afterlife.
Where is BeOS now? The Amiga?
Sorry, but Linux is better in a very important dimension: I have access to it.
I'm using Firefox on an old computer right now -- mainly because the Nouveau guys are simply great and made it work.
This machine works perfectly with Firefox, but Chromium won't run (it lacks the special vector instruction SSE2).
Nor Flash, probably for the same reason. HTML5 works, webm better yet, but it can play 1280x720 video nicely with vlc or mplayer. Not bad for a 10+ year old PC.
BeOS could be great, but Gasse was right in that powerful interests prevented it from being a success; I believe he could have joined efforts with Linux back then to move things on; more or less like Steam is doing. Alas, I wish them all the success they can handle.