TheFinalCut tag:blogs.perl.org,2009-11-03:/users/thefinalcut//175 2009-12-16T13:28:56Z A blog about the Perl programming language Movable Type Pro 4.38 'Buntu, Nvidia drivers and OpenGL complaints tag:blogs.perl.org,2009:/users/thefinalcut//175.117 2009-12-16T13:06:54Z 2009-12-16T13:28:56Z I like playing around with 3D software such as Autodesk Maya and Blender. I gave Blender a much greater focus during the last few months, as I developed a tendency to prefer opensource solutions whenever I can. At the beginning... TheFinalCut I like playing around with 3D software such as Autodesk Maya and Blender. I gave Blender a much greater focus during the last few months, as I developed a tendency to prefer opensource solutions whenever I can.

At the beginning I had some annoying problems with it, which surprisingly or not, aren't Blender's fault at all. Most of them are Nvidia's fault.

I have a graphics card based on the Nvidia GeForce 8600GT chipset.
On Ubuntu 9.04, my OpenGL didn't work at all, so I couldn't even get Blender to start.

Gladly, with the upgrade to 9.10 and the new ver 185 Nvidia drivers, that problem was solved and I could finally use Blender on a Linux platform.

All was well for a couple of months, and I greatly enjoyed the amazing speed at which Blender loads and runs on my 'Buntu.

But then started going into texturing, and I saw a tutorial (a great one to anyone interested in Blender or 3D modelling in general) in which OpenGL was utilized to give a very nice realtime preview of textures in the viewport.

This is a great advantage, as you don't have to render every time to see changes in your materials and textures. I liked that feature very much in Maya, and was thrilled to see it applied in Blender.

However, it refused to work. Trying to apply it, I got a message that this feature is not supported on my graphics card or driver.

Since I also have windows XP installed here, I checked it out there and it worked fine. Conclusion: This is a fuck up with the Nvidia drivers for Linux again.

These kind of errors are what's hurting Linux's viability as a platform for 3D, despite all it's other great advantages. And I can't help but wonder, how difficult could it be to release fully functional drivers?

Has to be easier to do this in an opensource OS like Ubuntu, compare with Windows, isn't it??

Since my Hanvon graphic's tablet also doesn't work in Linux, I already have to use windows for 2D sketching and stuff. Now, since the realtime texture display is pretty important to me in 3D, I reluctantly have to do all my 3D work in windows too.

Since I also have Maya installed on my WinXP (with which I'm better acquainted), I find myself drawn back to developing my 3D skills there, rather than using Blender. So this one annoying disability in the available Nvidia drivers fucks up most of my efforts to adopt opensource 3D tools.

Irritating.

]]> First post on the shiny new onion tag:blogs.perl.org,2009:/users/thefinalcut//175.116 2009-12-16T11:27:49Z 2009-12-16T13:06:41Z Hello there! Being a cautious type (usually), I kept on to my recently created use.perl.org journal despite the justified acclaim this new platform gained when it was annouced. It was worth the wait, seems like all the early illnesses have... TheFinalCut Hello there!

Being a cautious type (usually), I kept on to my recently created use.perl.org journal despite the justified acclaim this new platform gained when it was annouced.

It was worth the wait, seems like all the early illnesses have been cured, and it's safe to join this much improved perl blogging sphere!

Glad to join, and happy to use these great new blogging tools. Thanks to all those involved in the creation and maintenance of blogs.perl.org!

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