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I wonder if it is the result of the LAPSUS$ hack. This was their statement from early March: "After evaluating our position and Nvidia's, we decided to add one more requirement. " "We request that Nvidia commits to completely Open Source (an distribute under a FOSS License) ther GPU drivers for Windows, macOS and Linux, from now on and forever." "If this request is not met, on Friday we will release the complete Sili…
I did a double take because the title is almost clickbait for us desktop Linux users, and immediately wondered "what's the catch?". It's a significant catch, but also a significant step in the right direction.
Translating & simplifying the language here: sounds like GTX 10xx GPU users (Pascal architecture, e.g. 1070/1080) will stick with closed source for now, but RTX 20xx GPU users (Turing architecture, e.g. 2080) and RTX 30xx GPU users (Ampere architecture, e.g. 3080) will have the option to opt-in to the open source kernel module. Stable open source support for GTX 10xx GPU users may come later.
For those who didn't use Nvidia on linux in the old times: The driver was a proprietary binary. Since a kernel module requires interfacing with the kernel API, it could be considered a derivative work and a breach of the GPL license. So, Nvidia provided a small open source shim which interfaced between the kernel and the proprietary module. You had to compile that shim yourself with the right arcane command line inca…
I never quite understood this logic: the same (?) binary blob is used for the FreeBSD and Solaris drivers.
* https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/unix/
So how can it be a 'derivative' of the GPL Linux if it it also used on non-GPL systems?
[1] https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/tree/main/...
For those who didn't use Nvidia on linux in the old times: The driver was a proprietary binary. Since a kernel module requires interfacing with the kernel API, it could be considered a derivative work and a breach of the GPL license. So, Nvidia provided a small open source shim which interfaced between the kernel and the proprietary module. You had to compile that shim yourself with the right arcane command line inca…
> The module was a proprietary binary. Since a kernel module requires interfacing with the kernel API, it could be considered a derivative work and a breach of the GPL license. I never quite understood this logic: the same (?) binary blob is used for the FreeBSD and Solaris drivers. * https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/unix/ So how can it be a 'derivative' of the GPL Linux if it it also used on non-GPL systems?
I wonder if this has been in the works for years, or if this is a reaction to the recent Lapsus hack.
> The LAPSUS$ hacking group, which has taken credit for the breach, had an unusually populist demand: it stated that it wants Nvidia to open source its GPU drivers forever and remove its Ethereum cryptocurrency mining nerf from all Nvidia 30-series GPUs (such as newer models of the RTX 3080) rather than directly asking for cash. [1]
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/4/22962217/nvidia-hack-lapsu...