Warning: Please don t buy Intel GMA500!

[Caleb_IX]

How To Kick Your Friends in the Face: GMA500 | Linux Journal

"Then Intel cemented their relationship in the Linux world with Moblin. It was pretty clear Intel took Linux seriously, and those of us that care about such things gave Intel even more praise. In fact, when Acer came out with the 11.6 inch netbook, when I saw it had an Intel chipset I didn’t even bother checking for compatibility.

That’s when Intel kicked me in the face.

You see, the Acer Aspire One 751h, although perfect in almost every way, has an Intel GMA500 video chipset. This hardware, codenamed “Poulsbo” isn’t actually developed by Intel, but rather uses a PowerVR chip. If you’re a Linux video hacker, the term “PowerVR” probably makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and for good reason.

(...)

I don’t want Windows on my Acer, and I’m sure there are a lot of folks with the Dell Mini 12 that would rather not keep their old version of Ubuntu in order to use their netbook. We’re still friends, let’s make up, OK? Make it right, and we’ll chalk this up to a bad oversight."

[Caleb_IX]

Here s the long story about this problem and what to do if someone has allready bougth this sh...

Blaming Intel for How the World Is

[Caleb_IX]

More on Poulsbo (GMA500), Intel, and the Community | Linux Journal

"Either option is ugly for Intel, and even still they handled things poorly:

1) They put their name on a GPU that was developed by Imagination Technologies, using drivers written by Tungsten Graphics. I have serious doubts the PR department was contacted before making this decision. This is my biggest beef with the company, because they've built up my trust as a company that supports Linux with their product line.

2) Even with the above change in dealing with the Linux (and computer users in general) community, Intel fails to accommodate us in other ways. NVIDIA has closed drivers, and yet they manage to honor Linux users with usable video drivers. Do I wish NVIDIA had open drivers? You bet. But at least they provide usability.

3) Rather than provide ABSURDLY limited Linux drivers, Intel should have just not supported Linux at all. I feel most sorry for those folks that bought the Dell Mini 12 with Ubuntu pre-installed. Certainly if Ubuntu was pre-installed the hardware would be Linux compatible. Um, nope. Yes, perhaps Dell should have read their contract with Intel better, but come on, Intel sold their stuff with no upgrade path? I'm sorry, but that's just dumb.

So in the end is Intel the only company to blame? I suppose not. Dell, Acer, Sony -- you guys should have known better. In fact, with this black eye, perhaps you have learned and won't trust Intel anymore. If only there were other companies making CPUs... (PS: Hey guys, I can provide you with links if you need them)

And even if you buy into the idea that Intel is blameless in this GMA500 debacle, they're certainly the only folks that can fix it. So I reiterate:

Dear Intel,
Please do something. I don’t want Windows on my Acer, and I’m sure there are a lot of folks with the Dell Mini 12 that would rather not keep their old version of Ubuntu in order to use their netbook. We’re still friends, let’s make up, OK? Make it right, and we’ll chalk this up to a bad oversight."

[Caleb_IX]

[Phoronix] Is An Open-Source Poulsbo Driver Coming?

"Is An Open-Source Poulsbo Driver Coming?

We were tipped off this weekend that on YouTube are two videos (shown below) courtesy of the German NetbookNews.de that shows off Quake III Arena running in full HD on a Poulsbo netbook and a full 1080p HD film running off another Moblin-powered netbook. To sum up the video descriptions for those less experienced in German, Martin Mohring of the Linux Foundation was showing off Quake III Arena at 1080p on an Intel Atom Z-series netbook with a GMA500 graphics solution using "special drivers" that will come with Intel's Moorestown platform. This game was running at about 35~40 FPS with this Moblin system. The HD video sample was done on another Poulsbo netbook with a Z-Series Atom under Moblin, again using these "special drivers" for Moorestown. These videos were recorded at MobileDevCamp09.

Unless there was just too much (wonderful) Augustiner being drunk at this development camp in Munich, this would leave us to understand that there is some sort of new driver for the Intel Poulsbo coming out for Linux with Moorestown. For those not up on codenames, Moorestown is the successor to Intel's Menlow platform, which will launch late this year or early next year. New Linux drivers that run fast are one thing, but if the Linux Foundation is showing off this "special driver", we have to wonder if this Poulsbo driver will be open-source. If not, what is the Linux Foundation doing showing off binary blobs on Moblin? Only time will tell."