I missed this blog post a couple of weeks ago:
Intel released open-source drivers for its graphics cards on Wednesday, a bid to win Linux allies and give the operating better support, but graphics rival ATI Technologies has indicated it won’t follow suit when it comes to the software that lets operating systems communicate with its workstation and PC graphics cards.
“Proprietary, patented optimizations are part of the value we provide to our customers and we have no plans to release these drivers to open source,” the company said in a statement. “In addition, multimedia elements such as content protection must not, by their very nature, be allowed to go open source.”
It’s possible that position could change if Advanced Micro Devices’ acquisition of ATI goes through, but so far AMD hasn’t committed one way or the other.
This sums up in one succinct sound byte why fans of open source software hate software patents and digital rights management technology. Note that this has nothing to do with being stingy or anti-capitalist. Many open source hackers make a good living and would gladly pay extra for the right to use an open source ATI driver. What they’re focused on is the freedom to tinker, and the positive externalities generated when other programmers are given the freedom to tinker.
Unfortunately, as the ATI guy says, software patents and DRM are fundamentally hostile to the freedom to tinker. By nature, open source software projects lack the infrastructure required to collect patent royalties or to restrict modifications on DRM to prevent circumvention. As a result, the antagonism of open source programmers to software patents and DRM isn’t going to go away.
Hat tip: EFF
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
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