Nvidia increasing support for Linux, says software director

Nvidia intends to increase support for the open source operating system Linux, according to an email from Andy Ritger, Nividia's director of Unix software.

The email was addressed to the developers of Nouveau, which provides open source video drivers for Nvidia GPUs on Linux. The organization later posted the full text online.

"Nvidia is releasing public documentation on certain aspects of our GPUs," Ritger wrote, "with the intent to address areas that impact the out-of-the-box usability of Nvidia GPUs with Nouveau. We intend to provide more documentation over time, and guidance in additional areas as we are able."

As a "first step," Nvidia released a document detailing technical aspects of an Nvidia card's VBIOS. Ritger also wrote that those who develop Nvidia's proprietary GPU driver for Linux will "pay attention" to the organization and offer assistance as they can.

Nvidia has a rocky history with Linux, as far as the operating system's creator, Linus Torvalds, is concerned. Last year, Phoronix reported that he pronounced Nvidia "the single worst company we have ever dealt with."