Latest ATI Linux Driver Brings Support for Ubuntu 7.10

A new version of the ATI/AMD Linux display driver was released last night for both x86 and x86_64 platforms. This release is a bit special, as it includes support for Ubuntu 7.10. Moreover, starting with this version, the ATI Catalyst software suite does not support the Linux kernel 2.4, XFree86 4.3 software and workstation hardware.

Issues resolved in this release:

• Launching a new terminal un RHEL5 32bit version no longer results in inconsistent background colors appearing each time the window is minimized and maximized
• The kernel module is now working on kernel version 2.6.23
• An error message no longer appears during installation if dash is used as /bin/sh

Known issues of this release

• There is no support for video playback on the second head in dual head mode.
• Desktop corruption may be noticed when dragging the overlay/video when using dual-display mode.
• A black screen may be observed on some hardware when switching to the console or leaving the X window system when a Vesa framebuffer console driver is used.
• An error message appears during installation if dash is used as /bin/sh.
• Several distribution-specific packaging scripts are not up-to-date in this release. In particular, packaging for 64-bit Ubuntu versions is known to be broken.

In order to gain the best performance and ease of use, ATI/AMD recommends the following:
• Kernel module build environment – should include the following: Kernel source code: either the Kernel Source or Kernel Headers packages
• ISSE Support enabled in your Linux Kernel (applies to Intel Pentium III and later CPUs only; enabled by default on version 2.4 and later kernels)
• The rpm utility should be installed and configured correctly on your system, if you intend to install it via RPM packages;

Requirements:

• XOrg 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2 or 7.3
• Linux kernel 2.6 or higher
• glibc version 2.2 or 2.3
• POSIX Shared Memory (/dev/shm) support is required for 3D applicationsPlease notice that starting with this version, ATI Catalyst doesn't support Linux kernel 2.4. If you have a machine running Linux kernel 2.4, you should install version 8.42.3 of the ATI Catalyst software suite.

Supported operating systems:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6 (tested with Snapshot 6)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 (tested with Snapshot 7)
• Ubuntu 7.10
• RedFlag 6.0 DT (tested with RC)
•OpenSUSE 10.3 (tested with RC1)For installation instructions and more information about this release, please go here.

Google to Announce Phone Plans Monday

Amol Sharma reports on Google:

We won’t have to wait much longer to hear from Google about its big plans in wireless. The company looks set to make a splash in the mobile market on Monday, announcing an alliance with various handset makers and cellphone operators around the world that are willing to push its “open” platform for cellphone applications, sources say. It’s always possible the announcement’s timing could change, but Monday looks like the day at this point.

The U.S. carriers likely to be part of the announcement are T-Mobile and Sprint, according to our sources, but there could be others by the time Google says its piece. While Sprint appears to be agreeing to work with Google to put the Web giant’s new Linux-based open operating system into phones, T-Mobile will probably go even further: the company has worked with Google for months on plans to build Google-powered phones with a variety of Google software and applications. As far as handset partners for Google, Taiwan’s HTC is a likely bet, our sources say. Samsung, LG, and SonyEricsson are also possible, but we’ll wait and see the full roster. Equally interesting will be who isn’t on the list.

Don’t expect to see any devices soon – the middle of next year is the earliest Google-powered phones could come to market.

What will the impact be? Well, Google is trying to remake cellphones in the model of the Web, making them as open as possible to new applications in areas like social networking and map-based services. It’s too early to tell whether this will be a revolution in cellphones – or just an evolution that improves on the relatively open platforms already out there, like rival Microsoft’s Windows mobile. If the partnerships result in Google-branded devices hitting the market, we’ll get a chance to see how much pull the Google name really has in the wireless market. We’ve already seen the pull Apple has.