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Xref: sserve comp.os.os2.misc:88841 comp.windows.x.i386unix:8118 comp.os.linux.misc:11567 comp.os.linux.help:26214 comp.os.386bsd.misc:2115 comp.os.386bsd.questions:9436 comp.sys.next.software:10286 comp.sys.next:17025 Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!yeshua.marcam.com!usc!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!hamblin.math.byu.edu!news.byu.edu!cwis.isu.edu!u.cc.utah.edu!cs.weber.edu!terry From: terry@cs.weber.edu (Terry Lambert) Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc,comp.windows.x.i386unix,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.help,comp.os.386bsd.misc,comp.os.386bsd.questions,comp.sys.next.software,comp.sys.next Subject: Re: PCI bus cards (graphics and SCSI) which work? Date: 26 Mar 1994 08:36:47 GMT Organization: Weber State University, Ogden, UT Lines: 32 Message-ID: <2n0s6v$jil@u.cc.utah.edu> References: <2mslqq$1vl8@rs560.cl.msu.edu> <michaelv.764537928@ponderous.cc.iastate.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.weber.edu In article <michaelv.764537928@ponderous.cc.iastate.edu> michaelv@iastate.edu (Michael L. VanLoon) writes: ]Do NOT buy ANY Diamond products! They are not and will never be ]supported by XFree86 (although a few adventerous souls have gotten ]them to limp along at times). Diamond will not allow their drivers to ]be public and doesn't care at all that this may cost them a sale ]because you run a free "unix". They are quite indifferent to the ]pleas of free "unix" users. There is a *reason* for this, however lame you and I think it is. They want to be able to "upgrade" their card hardware with a PAL and a BIOS change. With BIOS based drivers, this is peachy. With hard coded drivers whose changes don't match those in the new BIOS, you can smoke your card and your monitor (and if you are lucky and smoking the card pulls an electrical no-no by melting don to a direct short OR you have an older non-optoisolated monitor and the collapsing magnetic field from the flyback as the sync oscillator burns out causes a voltage backwash, you can also smoke your power supply and/or your motherboard. AND your other cards. AND your modem. AND your phone line. ...JOY!). The reason for keeping it "secret" is both so they don't get stuck with backward compatability issues with software they don't control and because all a competitor has to do is build the same card and be cleverer in programming their PALs. Aren't you glad you brought this up again. 8-(. Terry Lambert terry@cs.weber.edu --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers.