In what has been described as the new status quo for ATI, Linux drivers are available from launch day forward for their newest graphics card. The new Radeon HD 4850 come with Linux support out of the box. Not only is the driver available immediately, it is actually shipping on the included driver CD (with Windows drivers as well.) Furthermore, ATI has decided to prominently display Tux, the Linux Penguin official mascot, on their new product packaging. ATI has also promised full support for the new Crossfire X multiple graphic card technology within the year.
This is absolutely HUGE news for the Linux community, especially the gamer segment of that community. ATI has never released a native Linux/Unix driver with any graphics card in the history of the company. ATI has said that they have listened to the input of their large Linux user base and made a business decision that would benefit all parties involved. There is no doubt in my mind that the recent surge in Linux users (especially by way of Ubuntu) influenced this decision. Dell's decision a while back to ship laptops with Ubuntu installed from the factory shows that Linux has now become a serious competitor to the much less secure and much more bloated Microsoft Windows operating system. Furthermore, Windows Vista, Microsoft's new stillborn operatin system, has suffered a horrible adoption rate and general pariah status in the market. The rise in popularity of the ultra mobile PC (UMPC) such as the Asus EEEPC and HP Mininote (often running Linux to squeeze the most performance out of meager hardware) have also contributed to the Linux adoption rate. As the installed user base of Linux grows, more companies will follow the lead of ATI in offering Linux support for their products from launch day forward.
I always recommend that consumers purchase as much as possible from those vendors that support their favorite technologies. In this case, ATI has shown their committment to the Linux community, and we are colletively thankful. Historically, I have been a purchaser of nVidia products, but that changes today. I will now throw my full support behing ATI (and my favorite processor manufacturer AMD) as a sign of my appreciation for what they have done for all Linux users. I recommend you do the same.
AMD ATI offers Linux support for Radeon HD 4850 from day one!
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