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NVIDIA joins the Linux Foundation

by Alistair Lowe on 8 March 2012, 10:13

Tags: NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

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The Linux Foundation has announced that amongst its latest addition of new members is graphics firm, NVIDIA, a move which is expected to strengthen the company's relationship within the Linux community.

It has been hoped that from this membership, NVIDIA may partake in open-source driver projects, as currently NVIDIA only offers closed-source drivers for Linux, which typically adds complexity to integration and prevents the open-source community from efficiently contributing enhancements and bug-fixes.

On the other-hand, at the most basic level, NVIDIA may simply wish to reap the benefits of membership to support its increasing involvement in Linux-based operating systems such as Google Android, with the firm no doubt interested in the multimedia direction that Ubuntu appears to be heading in.

"Membership in The Linux Foundation will accelerate our collaboration with the organizations and individuals instrumental in shaping the future of Linux, enabling a great experience for users and developers of Linux," stated Scott Pritchett, NVIDIA vice president of Linux platform software.

Membership in the Linux Foundation grants the firm the opportunity to help determine the direction that Linux development heads down in the future. Other membership benefits are the exposure to skilled Linux programmers, greater presence in Linux community media and discounts on Linux training.



HEXUS Forums :: 5 Comments

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I wonder if this has anything to do with Steam and Mac… seems inevitable that it will wind up on Linux at some point, and it's the first meaningful step towards gaming on Linux I've known in my lifetime.

Sadly, I suspect the article is correct and it's more to do with Android.
But will they go open source? If so then that solves a lot of problems.
I cant see Nvidia going open source, they still are withholding code on their tegra devices, and manufacturers cant release it due to Nvidia saying no… basically Nvidia doesnt help the community at all unless they get paid instantly.

Still, I will be awaiting what happens next :D
snootyjim
Sadly, I suspect the article is correct and it's more to do with Android.
This is more likely. nVidia has made it pretty clear they've no intention of opening up their blob. But it might make them better able to influence Linux development to get their blob into the transition to an X-less Linux graphics stack.
aidanjt
snootyjim
Sadly, I suspect the article is correct and it's more to do with Android.
This is more likely. nVidia has made it pretty clear they've no intention of opening up their blob. But it might make them better able to influence Linux development to get their blob into the transition to an X-less Linux graphics stack.

Given that AMD (& Intel) are are already members – as mentioned by zdnet – and their driver support for linux is terrible, this seems most plausible.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/nvidia-joins-the-linux-foundation/10530