VIA shows their lack of support for Chrome9 on Linux

Slashdot has posted an interview with VIA's "Open Source" representative. Harald Welte has previously worked with gpl-violations.org, giving him some credibility. However, his answers regarding the Chrome9 video chipset show that it's unlikely that Via "gets" the benefits of true open source support:

I am sorry to say that there is no quick solution for FOSS support of Chrome9 products. It is one of the hottest topics of my work inside VIA, and everyone is trying their best to find a solution. I cannot disclose any details for the reasons for this difficulty, but any possible solution is likely going to take quite a significant amount of time.

The ICC lab recently obtained an HP 2133 Mini-Note, which uses a VIA processor and chipset. Getting the whole package (video, wireless, and so on) working smoothly would have been much easier if the video drivers weren't proprietary blobs. It's likely that the machine will be returned (it needs to be RMA'ed anyways), so the odds of it being replaced with something with a different chipset, and better Free drivers, are pretty high. With the competition being so tight, VIA has some serious changes to make if it wishes to remain a contender.