Linux Graphics Spotlight

By Dawn M. Foster (91 posts) on December 15, 2009 at 12:33 pm

Over the next couple of months, we're going to be focusing on Linux graphics here on the Open Source at Intel website. We've kicked it off with some graphics topics sprinkled throughout the open source website. Here are a few things you might be interested in reading:

Enhancing Linux* Graphics: Learn more about how a combination of kernel components and innovative hardware features combine to provide enhanced graphics capabilities for Linux.

GEM and Power Management Advances: The Graphics Execution Manager (GEM), designed by two Intel software engineers, Keith Packard and Eric Anholt, manages memory allocation and mapping across several graphics chipsets with improvements to high-performance, 3D graphics within the Linux environment. Intel engineer, Jesse Barnes, has been focused on implementing power saving improvements in Linux by reducing display refresh rates, controlling clock frequencies, using RAM self-refresh, and frame buffer compression.

Turbo Boost and Intelligent Power Sharing: These two technologies balance thermal limitations and workloads to provide optimal performance while also managing power consumption on systems with multiple cores.

Tech Experts: Profiles of two of Intel's Linux graphics experts, Keith Packard and Eric Anholt, with more information about their contributions to Linux graphics.

DreamWorks: With the help of Intel engineers, DreamWorks was able to optimize their production of 3D animated films on Linux using a variety of performance improvement techniques.

Moblin 2.1 User Experience: Moblin 2.1 provides a great user interface on small devices (netbooks, MIDS, etc.), and the latest version has enhanced 3D motion graphics along with other improvements.

I'll also be doing more interviews with some of the people who are working on Linux graphics projects within Intel to go along with this interview of Keith Packard from earlier this year.

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For more complete information about compiler optimizations, see our Optimization Notice.

Comments (1)

December 15, 2009 1:41 PM PST


Martin
Another way of looking at graphics and GNU/Linux is to consider the many problems that users of not-very-old hardware have with graphics drivers. Since X.org 1.6 many ATI users have been left behind. These are practical end-user issues for ordinary people who are not provided with the latest hardware of their choice.

If this development of leaving behind users signifies the future of F/LOSS operating systems, then the Wintel paradigm has successfully been replicated and users will be forced to upgrade their hardware in order to enjoy the latest system, even though they do not need all the new features, but merely want the latest Firefox and OpenOffice.org as default parts of their system.

I guess this is good news for Intel on a very superfiscial, short-term basis, but it is bad news for the F/LOSS ecosystem.

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