NVIDIA Open Sources SHIELD's Operating System 83
hypnosec writes "NVidia has now open-sourced the operating system that powers the gaming console to encourage its modification and further development. Powered by NVidia's homegrown Tegra 4 processor, the console runs Android, which shouldn't surprise many as the company moves ahead with its open-sourcing intentions. The GPU company has said that the SHIELD is an 'open gaming platform' that allows for 'an open ecosystem,' enabling developers to develop content as well as applications that takes advantage of the underlying hardware and which can be enjoyed on bigger displays as well as mobile screen." Playing with it isn't without risks (like potentially voiding the warranty), but NVIDIA's blog post says they're also providing a recovery image to fall back to.
Nick Fury was unavailable for comment (Score:5, Funny)
Also, there is currently no word if HYDRA's OS will also be open sourced.
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Seriously, wear Depends if you ever watch it, you're going to need them.
Nice idea (Score:2)
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Are there any scientific applications that could be catered to with the Tegra 4 and a custom ROM?
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It's really too bad that nvidia didn't make a game console instead of the shield. Maybe they could have made a USB stick that slotted into the shield, which would be a $200 peripheral for a $100 Tegra 4 android stick computer. Because I'd have actually bought that, but I definitely didn't need a gigantic mutant handheld gaming device. That just don't make no sense.
I guess when Mad Catz brings out their console I'll take a look at that, but they are not exactly known for high-quality hardware; indeed, the op
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Why not (L)GPLv2 with a (L)GPLv3 and A(L)GPL exception so that it could make it into the Linux kernel and Hurd?
What exactly have they opened? (Score:3)
Isn't the 'shield' device running a GPL2 linux kernel (about which they have no legal choice on openness), some apache licensed Android components (dalvik, bionic, etc.) and a big Nvidia GPU driver blob?
It's nice of them to not be assholes about the bootloader just for spite (though I have to imagine that voiding the warranty of any device with an unlocked bootloader might not fly in jurisdictions where 'consumer protection' isn't a joke...); but what exactly are they 'opening'? Linux is GPL, Android is apache (and so could include proprietary modifications; but deviations from 'mainstream' Android aren't exactly a good thing), and the real meat of the device is a huge binary GPU driver, which Nvidia has no intention of opening.
Re:What exactly have they opened? (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, NVIDIA have made moves towards opening up parts of the Tegra driver stack with plans to open source more going forward.
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Is it sufficient that you don't need any propritary pieces though? If not there is little point to the exercise other than good PR.
Re:What exactly have they opened? (Score:4, Interesting)
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You're welcome [slashdot.org].
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You know, I still wish the Linux Nvidia driver was fully open source, but they done a exceptional job of making large parts of the binary blob's support open and documented. This means while you still have a large blob acting as a black box, the inputs and outputs are at least well documented, and the supporting semi-open bits are often modifiable into working while you wait for a driver update to support new open tech XYZ. Specifically, most new xorg versions and kernel versions can be made to work with a
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Wut? (Score:2)
Nvidea does not control Shields OS, thats Android.
They opensourced shield. Bloody duh.
Really? (Score:4, Insightful)
Is it because nobody is buying it, or even talking about it?
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I bought it. it's actually an awesome piece of kit. great emulator support, plays nearly every game on steam, and is an awesome media streamer. Works great with my plex server. I couldn't be happier
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Never heard of this thing before today. So it's basically a more expensive Ouya that doesn't suck?
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It doesn't stutter. I found that Mario 64 and Super Smash Bros work fine with a teensy bit of occasional audio chop. I probably could mess with the settings to fix the audio chop. Works surprisingly well. PPSSPP works well too.
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an hour for lunch - for a tech? More likely they were checking out all of the other booths to see what was going on. In this case, Nvidia did the right thing in sending Sales Drones. They don't give a damn about the others, just pushing their crap on everyone and sitting on their asses drinking $5 latte's from Starfucks.
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It's been mentioned plenty of times - the internals of the hardware will be covered by patents - registers, optimizations, memory organization. But probably most importantly, the driver must conform to the OpenGL specification. The actual hardware might be more than capable of doing much more than what the specification requires, or what has been licensed by patents. There may be combinations of texture and framebuffer that may be perfectly valid, but deemed not profitable to license. Perhaps you could mod
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Now please open source the actual interesting part - your GPU drivers.
What are you even proposing to do with that?
I applaud Nvidia (Score:2)
“Our goal here isn’t to discourage people from rooting their devices – it’s yours, after all – but to give us a course of action if folks start to abuse the hardware through software modifications”
It's fantastic to see a company not use the act of rooting as a crutch excuse to not warranty something, but instead to void warranty for harm the user ACTUALLY brought against the device outside of the normal operating condition.
Voiding the warranty? (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously. Stop saying that playing with software somehow invalidates a warranty on the hardware. That is simply not how things work in the Unites States, so please just STOP SAYING THAT.
(All replies not taking the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act [wikipedia.org] into consideration will be cheerfully ignored under the presumption of idiocy on the part of the respondent.)
Re:Voiding the warranty? (Score:4, Interesting)
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No lawyer needed in small claims court.
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IANAL but after reading the link you provided, I have doubts that you're completely correct.
I did see a lot of details about enforcing "full warranties" however NVIDIA only provides a "limited warranty" and they explicitly state:
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> You'd have to prove that modifying the firmware isn't unreasonable use.
> It would be cheaper just to buy a new $300 device
Wrong. That's what makes MMWA so potent. Once you file the complaint with the FTC, the onus is 100% on the manufacturer to demonstrate to the FTC's satisfaction that your modification of the firmware was the reason for the failure. It's cheaper for THEM to just re-JTAG your device to stock, run the factory diagnostics on it, and either return the original to you if it passes, or
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You do have a point. However they did explicitly state the terms of their warranty and make it available prior to the sale. It appears that they satisfied the MMWA by disclosing the conditions that will void the warranty.
I did find this Understanding the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act [mlmlaw.com] in a Google search.
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Yes, they disclosed all kinds of stuff that they say that they will not cover under the warranty.
Tell me, Bill: Which one of those terms voids the warranty by using different software? I don't see it.
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These are the sections, which I emphasized them in my original post, that lead me to reply to you.
and this within the same paragraph:
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Nor does it cover replacing the screen after it has been used as a hammer.
So what?
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Re: Voiding the warranty? (Score:2)
Geez, Bill. Are we discussing vapid implications of stuff read between the lines, or just digesting written English?
Let me know what the rules are.
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Sigh, Adolf.
Synopsis so far: You are not entirely correct. Yes simply installing or playing with software does not invalidate a warranty. However if the hardware stops functioning correctly solely because you played with the software then remedies like replacement or repair are not covered by the warranty.
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Remedies like replacement or repair are covered by warranty, just not for the particular defect that I myself caused.
Go read the warranty document again.
And "playing with software" doesn't invalidate the warranty. Which we both agree about.
(Yes, you can in theory brick a device by playing with software. I have at different times thought I've bricked my share of things, but I was always able to recover them, so they really weren't bricks after all. Defect thus eliminated, the warranty status is good.)
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Eh?
From your own posting:
I ain't no warrantor. I'm a just a consumer. That duty is theirs, not mine.
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Well the logic being that they could say that you messing with the firmware or boot configuration can cause the unit to become inoperative and therefore unreasonable or expected use. You'd have to counter their argument in court or arbitration.
Of course, they don't need to do this if they explicitly state what their warranty doesn't cover.
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How about a computer analogy? I can hose up the configuration on my new Dell desktop and make it unbootable.
But they still get to replace a dead power supply or a hard drive under warranty, no matter what software I'm using or how poorly that software works, unless they can prove that the software caused the particular defect that I am complaining about.
I can also install Kingston RAM [kingston.com] in that computer without affecting the status of the warranty. Or a different video card. Or, you know, whatever.
Same wit
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1. Nobody is required to offer a warranty on any product.
2. If there is a warranty, it must be either a full warranty or a limited warranty (as per MMWA it must be conspicuously stated if it is a full or limited waranty)
3. Almost nobody offers a full warranty on their products, only a limited warranty so most of the MMWA provisions applicable to a full waranty or implied waranty are moot.
4. According to MWA, a company can pretty much limit the warranty any way they want if it is a limited waranty.
Shield (
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Good! You considered the MMWA. We can discuss this.
Now can you quote for me the line in the Shield's limited warranty where it is conspicuously written that installing software on the device voids said warranty?
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NVIDIA will have no warranty obligation with respect to the following: (a) Warranted Product hardware that has no defects in materials or workmanship, (b) software, games or applications, (c) cosmetic damage; (d) normal wear and tear; (e) expendable or consumable parts; (f) defects or damage to the Warranted Product arising from or related to: (1) any modifications, alterations, tampering, repair, or servicing by any party other than NVIDIA or its authorized representatives ; (2) handling, transit, storage, installation, testing, maintenance, or use not in accordance with the Warranted Product documentation; (3) abuse, negligence, neglect, accidents, or misuse; (4) third party software or viruses
Depending on how you interpret the highlighted part...
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(f) is important. Without it, condition (1) is without context or meaning.
(f) is as follows: defects or damage to the Warranted Product arising from or related to
So if the modification, alteration, tampering, repair, or servicing by other than NVIDIA or its authorized representatives causes defects or damage to arise, they're not going to cover your ass with a warranty repair on THOSE PARTICULAR defects or damage.
Please note that the paragraph you quoted doesn't even say I'm not allowed to physically rep
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And in case I didn't make it clear: There is no verbiage there which allows a single insular act to void, carte blanche, the entire warranty.
Even if I toss my SHIELD into a fire, I still have a limited warranty on the charging adapter.
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Who the fuck even cares? People who want to hack and tweak devices don't give a shit about whether they could potentially void the warranty on their devices, that's something asshat lawyer-types care about. I've overclocked a heap of CPUs, RAM and GPUs and don't give crap that I've most likely voided the warranty by doing so, I've hacked and flashed new BIOSes onto graphics cards that may well push the hardware beyond its - and its cooling system's - limits causing irreparable damage to that hardware, doing
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No, it probably didn't.
And you do care: When EVGA replaced your board for you, were you either happy or unhappy with the outcome?
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No, it probably didn't.
If I'm running custom firmware that pushes the hardware beyond its specs then I would certainly expect the warranty to be voided.
And you do care: When EVGA replaced your board for you, were you either happy or unhappy with the outcome?
No, just because they replaced it doesn't mean I suddenly care whether I've voided the warranty. When my GPU RAM failed they didn't replace that even though it wasn't necessarily due to overclocking, but I'm not going to go through some process of forcing them to prove that.
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It's a computer. It just runs software. That said "software" might happen to reside on a some manner of flash EEPROM instead of spinning rust does not change this relationship.
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It's a computer. It just runs software. That said "software" might happen to reside on a some manner of flash EEPROM instead of spinning rust does not change this relationship.
So if I flash firmware onto my GPU that overclocks it and fries it that should be covered under warranty?
Now that I have SHIELD's OS (Score:2)
I just have to find the time to 3D-print my own helicarrier.
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neat controller (Score:2)
Those could be repurposed into some very interesting industrial controllers.
Neat.
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Intel/AMD is the only place for me and it's faster.
In short, the mobile chips are improving too quickly for any of this stuff to stick around long at this point. A PC GPU is expected to have support for some years and hopefully even another version or two of Windows. A mobile device is expected to be replaced when the next model comes out. I think that this is an increasingly unreasonable idea, but maybe I'm wrong about that; people do seem to buy a lot of gadgets, myself included. Then again, my phone is from 2011...
In any case, the only ARM-related GPU th
Dalvik JNI-alike isn't going to solve everything (Score:2)
I hope this is going to move us to more native code on the Android platform.
The Dalvik JNI-alike feature isn't going to solve everything we need to have really good games on Android.