Rick wrote: [stuff snipped] >However, while the general video capabilities have >improved for this chip - the 3D capabilities of this >chip in the Linux world are untapped. This chip >supports OpenGL in the Windows world.. but not in the >Linux world.. This certainly holds some interest to >augmented reality issues - rendering (superimposing >the image of a new design graphically over reality) >etc.. >Is this another area where the Linux world has cooled >their heels a bit because they have a half dozen chip >sets that give them 3D but only work in a power hungry >environment? > >I'm just curious what others here think about the >importance of 3D rendering to wearable use.. and >"slow?" advancement of Mesa (OpenGL).. > >Also if anyone else is using this chip ... I'd like to >hear about how well it works. > >Rick Speaking as both a wearable enthusiast and a member of the Direct Rendering Project for linux/XFree86, I'd have to say that most of the slow development time for new hardware pretty much boils down to 3 things. 1) VERY few graphics hardware companies are willing to release programming specs to their 3D hardware. This is usually attributed to them guarding their intellectual property (or the intellectual property of a 3rd party). 2) OpenGL 3D device drivers are extrememly complex pieces of code. Very few people have the knowledge required to complete a driver before becoming frustrated and quit. 3) Lack of available hardware to test with. Most of the active members of the DRI project only have 1 or 2 video cards to work with. Few people can afford to go out and buy 6 different $200 videocards. These three problems combined make for a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. Why buy a card when you can't get specs for it? Why should the manufacturer give out specs when they can't count on anyone to build a decent driver? If you can get programming specs without a restrictive NDA, I encourage you to join the DRI project and give it your best shot. --friar -- Subscription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" toWear-Hard Mailing List Archive (searchable): http://wearables.blu.org Please, *PLEASE* don't subscribe through a forward/expander/false domain
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