[NTLUG:Discuss] HP Expanding their adoption of Linux

[Justin M. Forbes]

On Thu, Oct 20, 2005 at 10:27:50AM -0500, Chris Cox wrote:
> 
> HP is still making mistakes.  I know one of their business platforms
> is based on the ATI chipset and uses the ATI onboard graphics
> controller.  I wouldn't waste my time on ATI... who knows if
> HP takes a stand, ATI might start doing a better job with
> regards to Linux support.
> 
While ATI does seem to be doing a bit better, it is all a question of what
onboard graphics you have, and what your complaints are.  I was given a new
Fujitsu notebook with the ATI turion chipset and integrated graphics.  Yes,
there were problems, not nothing more than I find with most new chipsets
out of the box.  All of the problems I found have been fixed upstream, and
all but one had easy work arounds.

ATI Graphics:
2D support was already in xorg upstream, and will be in the next release.
ATI does work with the community in this regard, and both ATI and nVidia
help to get 2D support into xorg quickly.  As a bonus, their drivers do not
force you to use the kernel module unless you are doing 3D now.

ATI Chipset:
Small timing issue with the ATI chipset, temporary workaround was to boot
with no_timer_check, proper fix is in 2.6.14 upstream which should be
released in the next few days.

Atheros Wifi:
New chipset, support is already in the upstream madwifi, but it requires a
new binary HAL release from Atheros.  I am told this will happen soon.

All in all I do not think ATI is any worse off than the majority of
chipsets I see from nVidia, VIA, SiS or anyone else for that matter.  It is
very hard for a hardware vendor to get support into shipping code with the
timeframes they look at.  Had Fujitsu or HP gone with a different chipset
for their Turion laptops, there would have been fewer features.

Justin