Press Release
- Archives 1999
ATI announces official support for Linux OS and endorses Open Source Movement
Driver development information for 2D, 3D and video components made available to Linux community
October 20, 1999
Toronto, Canada - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY, NASDAQ: ATYT) announced today that it is fully supporting the development of drivers for the Linux Operating System and is endorsing the open source movement by releasing 2D, 3D and multimedia programming specifications for its industry-leading RAGE graphics technology.
Recognizing the phenomenal growth and increasing popularity of Linux, ATI is committed to ensuring that the open source development community has access to technical development information on all its key components.
"ATI has made tremendous strides in the past year working with key developers on our support for Linux and we are on target to become the graphics company of choice among Linux users," said Henry Quan, vice president of corporate marketing, ATI. "We will continue to provide the hardware and software support developers need to help ensure the success of Linux."
"ATI's opening of the programming specification for their graphics chips will allow unhindered development of open source drivers that exploit the full potential of the hardware, and also gives curious developers a look inside the workings of modern 3D accelerators" said John Carmack, co-founder and lead programmer of id Software.
ATI has had long standing 2D support for all its current and legacy products through XFree86, a not-for-profit organization that develops a freely distributable implementation of the X-Window system.
ATI is aggressively expanding on this support by releasing previously unreleased development information. This includes:
- 3D development information for the RAGE™ Pro and RAGE™ 128 product families.
- Video capture and TV-Tuner multimedia development information for the RAGE™ II, RAGE Pro and RAGE 128 product families.
"I am happy to see the support from ATI for XFree86 and the Linux community" said Dirk Hohndel, Vice President of Strategic Development at SuSE and Vice President of The XFree86 Project. "Without this support it would be nearly impossible to provide good drivers, and good drivers for the key hardware components are necessary for Linux to continue its success. "
"I acknowledge and am grateful for ATI's many contributions to the furtherance of the XFree86 software, in terms of hardware, documentation, information and time." said Marc La France, a prominent XFree86 developer of ATI drivers. "I feel the relationship between The XFree86 Project Inc. and ATI that has been built up over the years has been, is, and will continue to be very beneficial to both parties."
To spear-head support for Linux, ATI has contracted Precision Insight (PI), a leading edge Linux software development company based in Texas, to develop an open source 2D and 3D driver for the RAGE 128. PI developed the Direct Rendering Infrastructure (DRI) for use with XFree86 and will develop a RAGE 128 driver under this new architecture. DRI will bring 3D features and performance, which were previously only available on expensive workstations. The source code for these drivers will be donated to the OpenSource community and is expected in Spring 2000.
"ATI's commitment to open source is clearly demonstrated by this strategic relationship with Precision Insight" said Frank LaMonica, President and CEO of Precision Insight Inc.. "This business model allows ATI to offer ongoing and timely support for OEM customers through Precision Insight, while still remaining totally supportive of the open source community".
Up-to-date information on ATI's support for Linux can be found at ATI's website at /developer/linux.html.
The ATI RAGE family
At the top of the ATI RAGE family of chips is the RAGE 128 PRO, not only among the fastest graphics chips in the world, but the most feature-laden - and at a mainstream chip price. RAGE 128 PRO includes integrated Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS) transmitter and meets all aspects of the DDWG Digital Visual Interface (DVI) specification for digital flat panel support.
The RAGE 128 PRO is also fully optimized to operate in 32-bit true color, with minimal performance degradation. With a doubling of setup engine capability, RAGE 128 PRO now enables 7 million antialiased lines per second for intensive CAD applications. With the industry's only integrated IDCT and Motion compensation, DVD decode can be accomplished with an absolute minimum of CPU usage.
Copyright © ATI Technologies Inc., 1999. All company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Corporate Profile
ATI Technologies Inc., the world's largest
supplier of 3D graphics and multimedia technology, designs,
manufactures and markets innovative and award-winning multimedia
solutions and graphics components for the personal computer,
set-top box and consumer electronics appliance markets. An
ISO 9002 company, ATI is the world's leading supplier of video
and 2D/3D graphics accelerators to OEM and retail customers.
Founded in 1985, ATI employs more than 1,700 people at headquarters
in Thornhill, Ontario, and in offices in the United States,
Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Barbados, Malaysia,
Japan and Hong Kong. ATI is a public company whose shares
trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
Contact Information
For other ATI news releases visit our web site
at www.ati.com.
