If you want 3D
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I wanted to get this out there, and please correct me if I am wrong, but I want to try to help people make sure they get 3D if they want it.
To fix not getting 3D you really need to replace the entire Motherboard. With that, often times, is the processor and memory too. Because you can't just buy a different 3D video card because none of them have working 3D. You have to get an Intel Motherboard with video integrated to get 3D on a Free Software System.
I have asked, almost at the point of tears, if there was any cheaper way instead of buying new guts (pretty much a whole new computer) but there isn't because Radeon and NVidea do not care about freedom. And, for the most part, Intel, ATI, and NVidea are really the only people left making new things with video ability for consumers. (Or are at least the big players. Is MSI even around anymore? Did they ever support Freedom?)
This also means that if you bought the wrong laptop, you're just screwed. Because if you didn't buy Intel with Intel Integreated Video; you're not going to get 3D until you do.
I made the big mistake of buying Radeon because a news article made it look like they were going to work with the Free Software community. They did, for a while, from what I hear. Then, either because of a DRM hang up and or not wanting to give freedom to the software that works with the kernel, (I've heard two accounts here) they pulled back. Well, we need everything free software to get 3D. So, close but no cigar, as far as I can tell, is the same for us as them not having helped at all because we still have no 3D. (At least I don't.)
My advice for all Freedom Lovers who want 3D is to buy Intel with Intel graphics integrated. Not sure if they are all supported, but some are. If you're a fan of AMD, tough cookie. You're going to have to choose between 3D or AMD because you're not getting 3D outside of Intel right now.
It's important to note that this is not the fault of Trisquel or Free Software. This is the fault of some hardware manufacturers not putting freedom first. From what I hear the FSF is working to encourage these manufactures to put freedom first. It is my sincere hope that the situation will change and that in the future there will be more choice and variety in getting 3D working. As there is a lot of confusing information regarding this topic out there and the meat and potatoes of it is, right now, only Intel integrated graphics will give you 3D. Nothing else currently does.
I'd also like to thank Intel for releasing their drivers as Free Software as without them doing this, no computer would be able to be 3D and run a Free Software System at the same time.
I am a translator!
Many hardware manufacturers consider it a commercial risk to release free software firmware and/or drivers because it reveals certain things about their hardware. Hopefully, enough of them will release free software for our community to continue to thrive. Helping your neighbor is important.
That's the other "reason" (more excuse I think) that I have heard too. It's a convenient way for them to prop up not being free because they can always claim that risk. Anyone could claim that for any type of hardware, more or less, and that would be a disaster. So, we shouldn't accept that as an excuse. As I said, they are not putting freedom first. They are putting "trade secrets" first. And as long as they do that they are useless to us because it makes their product useless (for 3D anyway) in a Freedom loving operating system.
I think this fact should be more pronounced because it not only affects 3D gaming but also 3D modeling and animation. 3D anything really. And many people switching over to freedom might get frustrated and switch to ubuntu instead or back to windows instead (which I used to do many times sadly) because I love 3D games and a Free Software system could not do 3D where a non-free system could.
I have sense got a new laptop and specifically got an Intel motherboard with graphics built in so I could have 3D ability. I think we likely loose a lot of people (any type of 3D video gamer) because we only have 3D in this way and some people, sadly, do not care about freedom enough to buy a new computer to get 3D when they could just switch to a different os, and with ubuntu, at no extra monetary cost.
We really should have a flashing, blinking, banner on the FSF, GNU, and Trisquel home pages saying that if you want to do 3D anything you need an Intel motherboard with graphics built in. Because this fact is out there, but not as advertised as it really should be and it's frustrating trying to convert to Trisquel, wondering why you're not getting 3D when you're ubuntu-running friends are, and then find out after you've go over here that you're kinda screwed unless you want to drop about four to five hundred at least for a new computer. It's kind of a half-hidden shame thing that I think we have and we're not given people the giant warning we should be.
Most of my friends, sadly, run ubuntu on one side and dual boot into windows on another for gaming. And, on some level, I do not blame them because you can't get 3D games unless you have an Intel motherboard. And, if you're not ready to buy a whole new computer, you're stuck between an awful rock and a hard place.
I see it from the users perspective, and as a rights issue. Those who buy computer hardware have the right to be able to use that hardware anyway they see fit, both now and in the future. By refusing to release their drivers as free software, computer hardware manufacturers are denying computer users the right to use the hardware I've bought, both now and in the future. They do the same thing with DRM, where hardware and software makers try to restrict what computer users can do with their own hardware. Free software drivers are the minimum manufacturers should give their customers. I'm not expecting them to write free software drivers for the next 20 years for every piece of hardware. Just to provide the information, so that at least others can do so, if they wish. This should be regulated or legislated for across the EU, and the world. All hardware manufactures should be required, by law or international agreement, to release their drivers, micro code, firmware, etc... as free software, under the GPL.
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