VIA releases Linux driver source packages

tomleem · Post by **tomleem** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:24 pm

"VIA Technologies today announced the extension of its open source support with the release of driver source code for specific VIA hardware."
http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20050412PR204.html

Chance to port it to ROS?

mf · Post by mf » Tue Apr 12, 2005 3:04 pm

Not necessary. It will support the windows binaries.

forart · Post by **forart** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:32 am

Well, i hope to see an EPIA-optimized ReactOS build...

Asraniel · Post by **Asraniel** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 8:10 pm

as i said in the other thread, open source is always better than closed source. Also, with open source drivers you can ship them directly with reactos and you dont have to download them later.

AcetoliNe · Post by **AcetoliNe** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:26 am

Binary Compatibility.
There is nothing more to say.

Pentiumforever · Post by **Pentiumforever** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:12 pm

Microsoft include many drivers into Windows, i think we should do the same in the last time many companies open her drivers i think it will be great if we port it into ReactOS (port because much of them are only for linux)

forart · Post by **forart** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:32 pm

pentiumforever wrote:Microsoft include many drivers into Windows, [..] i think it will be great if we port it into ReactOS (port because much of them are only for linux)

I barelly agree: it would be better to have a sort of open-driverpacks (could we could involve BTSu team too

).
A huge database of drivers integrated in the system could transform it in a "resouce-stealer" (aka MicroSoft' style).

Stead · Post by **Stead** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 12:32 am

patchworks wrote:
pentiumforever wrote:Microsoft include many drivers into Windows, [..] i think it will be great if we port it into ReactOS (port because much of them are only for linux)
I barelly agree: it would be better to have a sort of open-driverpacks (could we could involve BTSu team too ).
A huge database of drivers integrated in the system could transform it in a "resouce-stealer" (aka MicroSoft' style).

windows = convience, you can't have everything, i feel common drivers need to be intergrated in reactos install, although i feel this is a long way off from being able to happen anyway.

one of the nice things i think about windows is that it has amazing support for hardware, only the odd modem or bizarre soundcard doesn't seem to get recongised now and then, or stuff made after windows was out, i think its amazing how it works all nicely! although i guess for the hardcore users maybe a reactos without any drivers may appeal, but then i guess if your compling it yourself it won't have any of the drivers, only distro's would?

how does having a huge database of drivers make it a resource stealer?
i didn't think any of the drivers are loaded, i guess a nice idea would be only install the drivers that it detects hardware for, although usb devices should have drivers pre-installed, kinda defeats the point of usb to me if everytime u plug it in u need to isntall the driver.

i know some people just say windows, well windows suxors! yay i'm clever i know how to use linux, but i'm still impressed that those little 0's and 1's can make little beep sounds, let alone have full streaming 3d graphics!

forart · Post by **forart** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:02 am

how does having a huge database of drivers make it a resource stealer?

Where do you think that database is stored ? On the HD ! Mutch drivers are unused, so... I think is better to have a separate CD with all imaginable open sourced drivers and the system asks you to put it in when it recognize hardware. In this way you can build also a procedure to auto-update the drivers from CD (downloaded from the net) that you can burn on RW.

Anyway, have you visited the link ?

DriverPacks official website

loki1985 · Post by **loki1985** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:59 am

impressing stuff, those driverpacks.... those really could be added to some enhanced distro.
(i just hope there will be no distro-wars like at the linux side).

seems like you can have all those drivers (compressed) in less than 140 MB

would be cool, i just don't know if they are 100% legal, since most drivers are property of some company and may have many differing licenses....

Gasmann · Post by **Gasmann** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:25 pm

patchworks wrote:I think is better to have a separate CD with all imaginable open sourced drivers and the system asks you to put it in when it recognize hardware

That's a thing the user must decide. I would hate to insert a cd each time I install a new hardware. However, it would be just fine if you can (optionally) just copy the whole cd into a dir onto hdd and the setup would automatically look for the drivers there...

Asraniel · Post by **Asraniel** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:59 pm

Hard disk space is no problem today, and its much easier for the user if the drivers come with the os.
Open source drivers are a must, so they can be distributed with the os, and the os can be ported to other architectures.
if a hardware company dies, the driver still exists and can be developed (hardware firms can die, look ad 3dfx)
stop thinking windows, this is a open source OS

forart · Post by **forart** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:08 am

Hard disk space is no problem today

This is the same MicroSoft idea: it means that you will not use the OS for "dinosaurs" PCs... that is one of the most interesting appliance of open source OSes.

Asraniel · Post by **Asraniel** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:55 am

OS drivers are in general smaller than closed source drivers. I havent seen a hard disk space with my linux because of the drivers. Most of the drivers are in the kernel, and the kernel is realy small.

VIA releases Linux driver source packages

VIA releases Linux driver source packages

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