VIA Goes Open-Source, Embraces Linux

Taiwanese chip manufacturer VIA has announced a new project aimed at supporting the open-source development community in writing software for the company's processors and chipsets. The company has also announced its official VIA Linux website that will welcome its first visitors later this month.

When the website finally goes public, open-source developers will be able to download and post Linux-based source code for drivers, as well as technical documentation, source code, and information regarding the VIA CN700, CX700/M, CN896 and the new VIA VX800 chipsets.

As the project rolls, the chip manufacturer will build a fully-fledged development community with forums, bug-tracking and online support. The company's priority on the development agenda is delivering software to enable 2D, 3D and video playback acceleration on the VIA Processor Platforms.

"This announcement is the first step in the implementation of our new initiative to better serve the needs of the Open Source community," commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "We are strongly committed to improving the levels of collaboration with the community and adopting a more consistent approach across VIA Processor Platform technologies."

In order to deliver the open-source drivers on time, VIA will adopt a regular quarterly release schedule to match the important changes in the Linux world, such as kernel changes or the release of major Linux distributions.

Beta releases will be paid extra attentions, and the company relies on the users' feedback and bug reports, in order to deliver full, stable versions of the software.

"We are delighted that VIA has announced its commitment to enhance support for the Linux and Open Source community," stated Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. "This action will open up exciting new opportunities for accelerating open source innovation around VIA platforms and ultimately delivering a better user experience."

VIA's collaboration with the Linux open-source community is an important step in delivering proper drivers for the next generation of ultra-mobile PCs powered by the company's ultra-low voltage hardware.