AMD should support (financially) Linux UX/UI Developers and Open-Source App Developers Directly

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@intok Great references, great research. Good job.

Mesa is a very nifty project. It could allow for better graphics emulation. I hope they never add support for OpenGL 4.X, but instead wait for OpenGL to release their next-generation version (so-called OpenGL NG, or as no one should ever call it: OGLING!...).

With HSA and OpenCL being added to Gallium, their 3D drivers should receive a massive performance increase. And then, with increased DRAM on their graphics cards they could add functionality like GDDR5 RAM Caching support to various Windows *and* Linux applications. It could improve performance of non-3D applications using unused GDDR5 if available, using virtualized shared memory (which is how HSA works). That could be a *huge* bonus to their performance, but could also increase battery life on laptops that use HDDs, since reading a file from DRAM that's always on anyways would require less energy than constantly moving the reading head of an HDD back and forth. It could also be used to cache other files that are often used, like network drivers, firewall software, anti-malware software, etc.

And if using OpenCL is possible on GPUs through their drivers, its possible we could see Linux-based firewall software that leverages OpenCL to parallelize detection of malicious network activity. =)

As for OpenSource games... well, they do need improvement. I didn't know OpenSource games could be monetized. Could you explain how that could be done? What are the licensing specifics that could allow open-source software to be monetized?

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Would those be Intel NICs, Marvell SATA and USB Controllers and so forth?

I guess this is something for the motherboard manufacturers to take care of. Perhaps if they put a sticker on their motherboards saying "Open Source-ready" or something like that? Or "Coreboot-ready" ?

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AMD is broke. They can barely support their own hardware research. They are in no position to do anything else. They are in survival mode. Think, after all of the crypto-coin madness, they are still barely making it. AMD is in trouble. I try to support them when I can because I fear an Intel-only world.

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Just had a look at their quarterly reports. Their losses haven't been increasing by that much. They finally started earning some profit in Q3 '14, but their situation is so much better than 2013.

AMD now has a steady source of income: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. The consoles will continue to need hardware, and AMD controls the designs, so they don't have to worry as much about Intel or Nvidia. But to an extent they still do.

AMD is also now in a position where they need to do more research, hire more developers, etc. And they need to spend money to make money. I'm saying that offering "bounties" for apps that Windows developers have, but that Linux needs, is a great way for AMD to get great publicity and undermine the crutch which their main hardware competitors (Nvidia and Intel) rely heavily upon. Strengthening Linux also undermines Intel and Nvidia. That's the whole point of this post.