Canonical Publishes ATI Catalyst 8.10 Beta

[Canis familiaris]

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=canonical_catalyst_811&num=1

It's interesting Canonical had done this and that too at the time when Catalyst 8.10 was not even fully released. I hope it really helps us the ATI users.
Though now, Catalyst 8.10 has been released.
http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/linux64/linux64-radeon.html

[snova]

I don't quite understand... Is Catalyst is a configuration utility? Because I could use that. I recall something called "Catalyst" from Windows XP. Where does fglrx fit in, then?

In any case, there wouldn't happen to be a .deb for it, would there?

Good to see they're helping us unfortunates running Ubuntu with Radeon cards, though. :)

[eragon100]

It's even better. The now officially published update for the ati drivers still doesn't support xserver 1.5. Only ubuntu users get acces to a driver that's x-server 1.5 compatible. Meaning users of other distributions are forced not to upgrade. If they do want a newer distro on their pc, they can now choose between using ubuntu or throwing their ATI GPU in the garbage bin.

YIPPPIIEEEE!! :popcorn:

[TheOrangePeanut]

That's not a good thing, IMO, eragon. GNU/Linux should be about giving back to the community, not taking.

[Ub1476]

Actually it's Catalyst 8.11.

Phoronix says so.

[kinematic]

It's even better. The now officially published update for the ati drivers still doesn't support xserver 1.5. Only ubuntu users get acces to a driver that's x-server 1.5 compatible. Meaning users of other distributions are forced not to upgrade. If they do want a newer distro on their pc, they can now choose between using ubuntu or throwing their ATI GPU in the garbage bin.

YIPPPIIEEEE!! :popcorn:

And how is that a good thing? Would you be happy if Ubuntu created some sort of monopoly.....would that do it for you?

[Half-Left]

Or look at it another way, keep the 1.4 xserver release for a cycle, sure opensource doesn't wait for the proprietary vendors but how about some leeway here, stability anyone?

[eragon100]

And how is that a good thing? Would you be happy if Ubuntu created some sort of monopoly.....would that do it for you?

YES! Without this damned fragmentation, it would be a LOT easier for commercial software writers (such as game developers) to support their games / other software, which would mean more linux users, etc.

Canonical seems to know how to do business. Ubuntu now is the only distro that will have ATI support for it's upcoming release. It is already the only distro that has a commercial dvd player available (cyberlink powerdvd from the canonical store), so if you live in the US or Finland for example, you can only legally watch DVD's if you choose Ubuntu© TM

Yep, coming along nicely :KS

I am going to bed, good night :wink:

[snova]

I am of a similar opinion. Choice is nice, but it's better at the application level anyway. It's not so good at the development level when you're trying to support the quirks of every different distro. (Not that I ever have... but I don't look forward to trying.)

[kinematic]

Ubuntu now is the only distro that will have ATI support for it's upcoming release

And if they don't share it upstream they will be spitting in the face of open source and the entire GNU/Linux community. And without this damned "fragmentation" as you call it GNU/Linux wouldn't be where it is today.

[Canis familiaris]

And if they don't share it upstream they will be spitting in the face of open source and the entire GNU/Linux community. And without this damned "fragmentation" as you call it GNU/Linux wouldn't be where it is today.

No way they wont share this with upstream.

[Canis familiaris]

Actually it's Catalyst 8.11.

Phoronix says so.

Yes I realise it now.

[DeadSuperHero]

What? They're NOT going to help out other distros with ATI drivers, even when it's been a huge problem for ages?

If that's the case, I'm absolutely disgusted. Way to step on the FOSS movement, guys.

Since when was Ubuntu Linspire, by the way?

Guess it's time to drop Intrepid and switch back to Debian.

EDIT: Oh wow, Linsux (http://linsux.org/index.php?topic=492) has already covered us. Great publicity move, guys.

[handy]

It's even better. The now officially published update for the ati drivers still doesn't support xserver 1.5. Only ubuntu users get acces to a driver that's x-server 1.5 compatible. Meaning users of other distributions are forced not to upgrade. If they do want a newer distro on their pc, they can now choose between using ubuntu or throwing their ATI GPU in the garbage bin.

YIPPPIIEEEE!! :popcorn:

What a strange post! :confused:

[handy]

YES! Without this damned fragmentation, it would be a LOT easier for commercial software writers (such as game developers) to support their games / other software, which would mean more linux users, etc.

Canonical seems to know how to do business. Ubuntu now is the only distro that will have ATI support for it's upcoming release. It is already the only distro that has a commercial dvd player available (cyberlink powerdvd from the canonical store), so if you live in the US or Finland for example, you can only legally watch DVD's if you choose Ubuntu© TM

Yep, coming along nicely :KS

I am going to bed, good night :wink:

Oh, yeh! I remember you now, your the one who considers no one but themselves & their gaming addiction.

[Canis familiaris]

EDIT: Oh wow, Linsux (http://linsux.org/index.php?topic=492) has already covered us. Great publicity move, guys.
w0w! Never thought I'll be quoted as a Thread Topic at Linsux.org :P

But I don't think their intention is creating a monopoly. There is no way they won't contribute to Upstream.

[Polygon]

this is really bad if what people are saying about ubuntu only getting the new driver. this for sure goes against the spirit of linux and ubuntu...

[Mr. Picklesworth]

*Sigh* Typos + magnifiers + excitement = One enormous mess.

Please wait for real information and do not jump to sudden conclusions. Posting "me too" type posts will only magnify what is undoubtedly misinformation. We all know what happens when a thread reaches 6 pages; people start missing posts that are useful.

As for the software, keep in mind that it's proprietary so distros get it through ATI in cases like this. From what I can tell (although the Phoronix article is still distant from real information) this is just a bleeding edge early release because Ubuntu wants bleeding edge and asked nicely.
It isn't like ATI invented a time machine, went into the future and gave back an actual stable, final 8.11.0 product just for Canonical. That isn't how software development works. A final release is sat on for maybe 5 minutes before everyone sees it with this type of distribution.

The article neglects to mention whether Fedora (or any other distro) actually wants to risk packaging an unfinished driver. The folks who work on Fedora are pretty clever and they know what consitutes reasonable risk, so I don't doubt that they have a good reason to wait. Keep in mind that Ubuntu 8.10 is still a beta release, so it makes sense for all parties involved to use it for *gasp* generating bug reports; the software is not meant to be stable yet. Fedora 9, on the other hand, is stable so of course shouldn't be packaging unfinished drivers.


[Speaking of typos, I've edited my post at least 10 times now. Sorry about that!]

[snova]

What's to be excited about? I'm still not certain what Catalyst even is, except that it's for ATI cards.

Obviously it wouldn't be a good thing if this was kept to Ubuntu, but I doubt that would actually happen. Besides, if it's just an X server thing that prevents other distros from using it, it's only a matter of time before that's no longer a problem.

As for that linsux.org thing, ouch, they quoted me... Context does odd things, doesn't it?

[sicofante]

And if they don't share it upstream they will be spitting in the face of open source and the entire GNU/Linux community.
It's closed source, they can't share it upstream. They just managed to get something from ATI earlier than others.


And without this damned "fragmentation" as you call it GNU/Linux wouldn't be where it is today.I couldn't agree more. Without that damned fragmentation Linux would be a real contender in the desktop, not just a promise, year after year. Ubuntu is about to circumvent this by becoming a de facto standard, hopefully leaving behind all that lack of decisions which others call "choice". Finally. Thank's God.

[snova]

It's closed source, they can't share it upstream. They just managed to get something from ATI earlier than others.

I think the key word to see here is "earlier". They'll get it eventually.


I couldn't agree more. Without that damned fragmentation Linux would be a real contender in the desktop, not just a promise, year after year. Ubuntu is about to circumvent this by becoming a de facto standard, hopefully leaving behind all that lack of decisions which others call "choice". Finally. Thank's God.

I doubt it. Choice is important, but how many people are interested in the technical merits of distro X over distro Y? It's one thing to say that an application is missing a few features compared to another, but try explaining deb over RPM.

Besides, the nature of Linux is such that "de facto" is about as close to a standard as you can get. Ubuntu might become the biggest distro around, but that doesn't mean the others will cease to exist.

And as long as it stays in tune with the rest of the Linux world, I don't really care.

[Exershio]

If this was true, why is the release also in the ArchLinux repositories?

http://archlinux.org/packages/testing/x86_64/catalyst-utils/
http://archlinux.org/packages/testing/x86_64/catalyst/

[handy]

*Sigh* Typos + magnifiers + excitement = One enormous mess.

Please wait for real information and do not jump to sudden conclusions. Posting "me too" type posts will only magnify what is undoubtedly misinformation. We all know what happens when a thread reaches 6 pages; people start missing posts that are useful.

As for the software, keep in mind that it's proprietary so distros get it through ATI in cases like this. From what I can tell (although the Phoronix article is still distant from real information) this is just a bleeding edge early release because Ubuntu wants bleeding edge and asked nicely.
It isn't like ATI invented a time machine, went into the future and gave back an actual stable, final 8.11.0 product just for Canonical. That isn't how software development works. A final release is sat on for maybe 5 minutes before everyone sees it with this type of distribution.

The article neglects to mention whether Fedora (or any other distro) actually wants to risk packaging an unfinished driver. The folks who work on Fedora are pretty clever and they know what consitutes reasonable risk, so I don't doubt that they have a good reason to wait. Keep in mind that Ubuntu 8.10 is still a beta release, so it makes sense for all parties involved to use it for *gasp* generating bug reports; the software is not meant to be stable yet. Fedora 9, on the other hand, is stable so of course shouldn't be packaging unfinished drivers.


[Speaking of typos, I've edited my post at least 10 times now. Sorry about that!]

Sensible post. :-)

I don't think there is an enormous mess. Some will blow it out of proportion, but it won't have any real effect on the public perception of Ubuntu.

Some people are addicted to sensationalism others use it to further their own cause.

[Vadi]

Bitter bitter people.