Take 2

David Airlie was interviewed and has come up with two reasons why they opened up their GPU specs.

1.) Lost CPU sales due to lack of open source GPU support at an OEM level.
2.) Future CPU/GPU combination projects would require opening info on the GPU portion to allow uptake.

What a bummer. The CPU seems to be the _big deal_ item here. I think their lack of CPU sales are more due to the fact that Intel has a better chip than anything.

This is just another example that shows us that the Linux desktop market is not big enough to have any sway in the marketplace. The place where Linux has sway is in places where there are CPU/GPU combinations (embedded systems?).

I see this as AMD trying to compete with Intel; not NVidia. Remember, this is to capture more of the CPU market. Is AMD admitting that it can’t compete with NVidia, or are they considering NVidia as a non-competitor due to it’s lack of a CPU business?

In one of the most significant moves this year, AMD has committed to providing specifications for its R500 and above graphics cards. The lack of a good drive for ATI graphics cards has been a thorn in the side for desktop Linux adoptation. This may also impact other vendor’s strategy towards providing support for alternative operating systems.

MD has only talked about this and not yet acted on it. If they do indeed do as they say, my next machine will have an AMD/ATI setup in it. This is a huge change from the last two year in my mentality twards the company.