NVIDIA Drops Open-Source Driver, Refers Users To VESA Driver
NVIDIA’s open-source Linux efforts as it concerns their GPU support have historically been minimal. The xf86-video-nv driver has been around that provides very basic 2D acceleration and a crippled set of features besides that (no proper RandR 1.2/1.3, KMS, power management, etc) while the code has also been obfuscated to try to protect their intellectual property. However, NVIDIA has decided to deprecate this open-source driver of theirs. No, NVIDIA is not working on a new driver. No, NVIDIA is not going to support the Nouveau project. Instead, NVIDIA now just recommends its users use the X.Org VESA driver to get to NVIDIA.com when installing Linux so they can install their proprietary driver.
This xf86-video-nv announcement is coming as the GeForce 400 “Fermi” graphics cards launch. NVIDIA will not be providing open-source support for Fermi or any future NVIDIA products. NVIDIA will continue barely supporting xf86-video-nv only as it concerns existing GPUs and functionality and what they see “within reason” future versions of the X.Org Server. NVIDIA will also not support DisplayPort on any GPU with the open-source NVIDIA driver.
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