Hmm I don’t really understand any of this. Wish this one came with an ELI5
I can’t claim full understanding, but what I took away from it was that NVIDIA somehow ended up using GPL-licensed code in their proprietary drivers, possibly in a way that could incriminate the Linux kernel if not handled properly. My best guess (as someone with no kernel programming experience) is that NVIDIA sometimes contributes code directly to the Linux kernel that exists solely to support their proprietary drivers (the shims mentioned in the article). Apparently, these shims were exporting GPL-licensed code for use inside the proprietary drivers, which would be a violation of the GPL (unless NVIDIA made the source code for their proprietary drivers freely available in compliance with the GPL).
TLDR: (I think?) NVIDIA essentially infected the linux kernel with license violations to support their proprietary drivers, and the linux kernel devs are working to excise the violations and prevent anything like that going forward.
well, if that’s true I should be allowed to email NVIDIA and ask for their driver code
You’re allowed to email anyone you want.
That’s not what the restraining order says
And you’re gonna listen to that silly 'ol piece of paper over me, a complete stranger online?
Tainted kernels are not supported. Kernel devs aren’t spending time to fix bugs that come from a taint (uses blobs of code that are not open sourced) driver. Because the closed drivers can wreck all kinds of havoc and the kernel devs are helpless to fix the actual “source” of the problem.
There’s been all kinds of ways for the kernel to detect tainted binaries. nVidia is notorious for trying to circumvent that detection so that engineers can sit there and blame the kernel for failures.
nVidia has been a massively shit company to the open source community. If I had a list of most anti FOSS companies to ever exist, nVidia would be right behind SCO, with like TiVo behind nVidia. I know it’s hard but people who enjoy open source projects shouldn’t do business with the company. But if you got to have a nVidia card so be it, but I cannot NOT recommend nVidia enough.
I’m not an expert but this is what I understand from a podcast l listened to (https://twit.tv/shows/untitled-linux-show):
There’s a subset of Linux users who desire or need GPL compliant environments for they purposes (personal or work related).
There’s a kernel flag that is set to track if the drivers or gas loaded are also 100% GPL.
NVidia wrote their own video driver which is NOT GPL compliant, so as soon as they are loaded the kennel flag is set to “not GPL”. To get around the simple checks for GPL compliant drivers, NVidia wrote a wrapper (a “condom”) to lie that it was GPL-compliant when it was violating the GPL flag meaning.
The Linux 6.6 release apparently has more protections to keep NVidia from working around the GPL check. (For now…)
Interesting. I wonder why Nvidia cares.
nVidia doesn’t, but lawyers do. License violations are not cool, regardless of who does it.
They must care otherwise why would they bother to hack the GPL flag. 🤷
Disclaimer: I haven’t looked at the code.
It looks like Nvidia’s proprietary driver was caught circumventing measures that keep proprietary code from mixing with GPL code in the kernel, deliberately violating the kernel’s license. The kernel maintainers are responding by adding more restrictions.
Glad I stopped buying Nvidia years ago
Hopefully this all gets ironed out before kernel 6.6 lands in Arch.
Btw
Great, yet another reason distros will break whenever Nvidia ships an update
No, it’s the same reason as always: Nvidia stubbornly refusing to play by the rules, cooperate with the maintainers, respect other people’s software licenses, or let you know how to communicate with the hardware you bought. It’s part of why I stopped giving them money.
How curious, that’s the same Nvidia that makes the driver for Windows I’ve been using for a decade with zero issues.
You mean that stalkerware that whores out your privacy for profit? Yeah good luck with that shit. There are far reaching implications for this stupid nonsense with Nvidia. The stuff it really screws with is outside of the kernel and what makes it easy for most people to use Linux. Without it, the intellectual barrier for real freedom becomes much harder. If you’re into the new digital age of medieval feudalism, whatever, that is your choice. I prefer to avoid stepping back 1000 years of sociopolitical progression.
This is about ownership. If you didn’t 100% own what you pay for, you are a serf and a slave in all but name. No serf wanted feudalism, they were just too stupid to see what they lost when they lost it and do something about it while they had the chance. It won’t impact you much, but your grandchildren will despise you for these choices and your failure to value freedom and ownership. They are what you are really sacrificing to ignorance
Oh no, Nvidia is collecting data about my hardware and in turn working perfect on my system! I’m a slave!
So as long as they use plenty of lube, and do it while you sleep, you don’t mind it in the ass?
NVIDIA engages in some truly atrocious business practices, that they also produce really powerful GPUs, keep their software working (when it benefits them), and develop exciting new technology, excuses none of it.
So as long as they use plenty of lube, and do it while you sleep, you don’t mind it in the ass?
I’m not taking anything in the ass - I have a great GPU, with absolutely top tier driver support on an OS that isn’t purposely hostile to Nvidia, every feature works well from traditional rasterization to AI upscaling to AI model image generation. I can accelarate tasks on video editors and 3D modelling software no problem. I can encode AV1 and send it to my TV in real time. When a new feature or game comes around, I usually get a driver update within the week.
So I’m quite happy, not sure what you’re implying here.
I’m implying nothing. I’m straight up stating that all of that good stuff, still leaves the fact that nvidia is actively fucking every other participant in the industry. Including the customer.
Windows is just about the only thing they aren’t actively screwing with, because god forbid their biggest customer base had to deal with bugs. They might wake up and take a closer look at their BS.
They are pricing out their board partners to the point EVGA said fuck it, were done. They are gouging their “budget” tier cards so hard they wont sell, and are too stubborn to course correct because they got used to that cryptobro money. They tried to buy ARM after being shunned by the mobile industry because tegra chips were a fucking mess to integrate. They lock basic features like nvfbc behind driver-side software locks so they only work with GFE.
Literally every business partner nvidia has ever had, hates them. The only reason the industry at large isn’t even more hostile to them, is out of fear. Apple has straight up sworn off ever working with nvidia again.
And you think Linux is the problem?
Well no shit, this is about the GPL software license that Linux uses, and obviously Windows does not
