philcrissman.com - Latest Comments in Configuring Graphics on Ubuntu, Part 1

Re: Configuring Graphics on Ubuntu, Part 1

mrben — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 05:11:57 -0000

I believe that Freespire has 'solved' the problem, but in a way that is not particularly compatible with the ideals of Ubuntu.

Re: Configuring Graphics on Ubuntu, Part 1

Phil Crissman — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 16:38:59 -0000

@ John: Nice catch. That's worth a look-see.

@ mrben: Yes, the conflict between free and nonfree (or open and proprietary, or whatever the terms of the week are ;-) ) has probably been a larger barrier than anyone would like. Unless someone reverse-engineered some really excellent drivers (which may not even be totally legal in some cases...), we're basically waiting for either: (1) vendors (ie, nvidia & others) to open source their drivers, or (2) the GPL to become more accepting of closed source/nonfree binaries.

I don't think I'll be placing a large bet on any of those options just yet. Unfortunately, that probably means a really slick Linux desktop will always involve post-installation workarounds for the forseeable future...

Re: Configuring Graphics on Ubuntu, Part 1

Gapp — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:25:57 -0000

By the by, since I don't know anything about linux, I'll submit that Red vs. Blue has posted the first episode of their new season...

Re: Configuring Graphics on Ubuntu, Part 1

mrben — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 04:40:34 -0000

FWIW, there is an install script that will modify xorg.conf for you when you install the nvidia drivers.

I suspect the main reason that it's not simpler is because the Ubuntu guys are still quite reticent about installing proprietary drivers (and software) onto the system - a clash of values vs usability again.