nVidias rules of optimizing a driver

[WaltC]

My take is that those slide are serving as a prequel for upcoming chat and Q&A sessions with NVIDIA. It appears to me that NVIDIA wants to publicly discuss recent events that they've been criticized for.

That would be gratifying. However, I think it unwise to give such predictions any weight until such a "Q&A" session actually takes place. If you think about it, a more logical prediction might be that nVidia is hoping that this kind of thing serve as a replacement for the the hypothetical Q&A session you theorize. Perhaps this is nVidia's way of attempting to avoid a direct public confrontation with these issues? I think that is equally likely.

But if it is a "prequel" to some kind of official, direct response at long last I find it disturbing because obviously there is no need for such a "prequel" since most everyone is intimately informed on these issues already. One would hope that any such "Q&A session" on this topic would not be degenerated into a spin session wherein the company (again) seeks only to justify itself. That would likely do them no good at all.

IMO, no justification for their past actions is required or of value. What would be of value is an official statement taking responsibility and pledging to cease such activities, along with an official driver release which would lend validity to such a statement.

 

[digitalwanderer]

My take is that those slide are serving as a prequel for upcoming chat and Q&A sessions with NVIDIA. It appears to me that NVIDIA wants to publicly discuss recent events that they've been criticized for.

That would be gratifying. However, I think it unwise to give such predictions any weight until such a "Q&A" session actually takes place. If you think about it, a more logical prediction might be that nVidia is hoping that this kind of thing serve as a replacement for the the hypothetical Q&A session you theorize. Perhaps this is nVidia's way of attempting to avoid a direct public confrontation with these issues? I think that is equally likely.

But if it is a "prequel" to some kind of official, direct response at long last I find it disturbing because obviously there is no need for such a "prequel" since most everyone is intimately informed on these issues already. One would hope that any such "Q&A session" on this topic would not be degenerated into a spin session wherein the company (again) seeks only to justify itself. That would likely do them no good at all.

IMO, no justification for their past actions is required or of value. What would be of value is an official statement taking responsibility and pledging to cease such activities, along with an official driver release which would lend validity to such a statement.

The one thing that is making me think this might have a snowballs chance in hell of actually being that "responsibility taking" option you mentioned last is the fact that they're approaching DH about it.

Zardon won't let them use DH as a mouthpiece for their PR, and I do not believe he plans to hold any punches when he interviews them.

I'm going to reserve judgement on this 'til after the interview. If they own up to their past behavoir and say they'll stop I MIGHT just give them a chance to prove it.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

I'm going to reserve judgement on this 'til after the interview. If they own up to their past behavoir and say they'll stop I MIGHT just give them a chance to prove it.

Almost all of the Nvidia interviews for the last year have been just PR spin. Even the technical interviews tend to go through the PR filter and dodge the difficult questions. I won't believe this will be any different until I see it with my own eyes, because it's just not in the nature of the Nvidia beast.

 

[digitalwanderer]

I'm going to reserve judgement on this 'til after the interview. If they own up to their past behavoir and say they'll stop I MIGHT just give them a chance to prove it.

Almost all of the Nvidia interviews for the last year have been just PR spin. Even the technical interviews tend to go through the PR filter and dodge the difficult questions. I won't believe this will be any different until I see it with my own eyes, because it's just not in the nature of the Nvidia beast.

Yeah, but that's just it; it should be a fairly simple matter to tell if it's a sincere effort or not from the interview.

We're not dumb, I think if nVidia is just doing a PR fluff piece than we'll be able to tell pretty easy....Zardon isn't one to be used like that, and I don't think he would allow himself to be.

If they're not really going to talk, you'll be able to tell I'm sure as well as I will....that's why I'm reserving my opinion 'til I see it.

 

[nelg]

Well, they only have two choices: they can either say nothing to the public about what they are doing internally about this issue, or they can try to communicate it.

I would not categorize the reproduction of what are represented to be internal-consumption-only Power Point slides by way of a third-party web site as meeting the standard for "public communication" on these issues.

nVidia's had a long, long time to:

A) Make a genuine public statement, such as:

"We recognize that our previous driver sets have contained certain improper optimizations and henceforth this will no longer be the case."

Even something as vague and as general as that would be much more than the company has managed to "communicate" over the past months. I mean, nVidia had no trouble writing clear statements about what it didn't like about 3DMk03, did it? The company's public response to this issue simply doesn't yet exist.

You hit the nail on the head Walt. Nvidia might has well added to that last slide that motherhood was good and evil is bad. That has to be the tepid acknowledgement of misbehaviour I have ever seen.

 

[CapsLock]

first post- sometime lurker, enthusiast not a pro, another ati supporter from back when they were clear underdogs (and because I'm a Canuck)

anyway after much following of the recent "scandals" I thought I'd chime in to simply say:

Kudo's to those who call it like it is, as in Walt's above posting.

Nvidia have made their bed here, without apology, literally. They have had plenty of time to correct, in constructive, honest ways, and yet seem more to have spent their energies spinning, obfuscating and hiding. This [T] PR is a great example of saying nothing while appearing to represent their professional intentions.

Whenever I read a posting(s) which unerringly takes the: "hey, everybody cheats (and forgetting how quickly ati responded to the quack issue or the 3dmark) , lets stop this foolish partisan finger pointing- and forget about what ever it was that actually happened because in the future all will be made right again" I always suspect some slick underhanded apologetics/PR. The message seems too tailor made to sound reasonable and unconfrontational, and completely lacking in the more passionate position of true enthusiasts, who are the real victims here. The other cause for suspicion of these messages is that they always make those who are emotionally involved the unobjective/unfair/hotheads. Being angry about fraudulent behaviour is apparently immature and fanboish. Trying to hold a company resonsible for its history/actions is not forward-looking or fair.

The bottom line is that Nvidia have yet to make any kind of admission or apology or official statement. And they did obviously strongarm Futuremark to retract a valid accusation. These are the actions which speak for themselves.

Caps

PS. Maybe Dave should have a sticky thread cataloguing all reasonably proven cheats (either company) just to allow the more casual reader to keep track (is the UT trilinear-NOT cheat the latest?) and to keep up the pressure for a response. Perhaps another website, like Uttars rumours page, but for driver cheats- spare time anyone?

edited for ranting

 

[digitalwanderer]

PS. Maybe Dave should have a sticky thread cataloguing all reasonably proven cheats (either company) just to allow the more casual reader to keep track (is the UT trilinear-NOT cheat the latest?) and to keep up the pressure for a response. Perhaps another website, like Uttars rumours page, but for driver cheats- spare time anyone?

You raise some good points in the rest of your post...but when I read this I just thought, "Yeah, I can see a lot of websites lining up for the opportunity to invite legal headaches and animosity from both major video manufacturers..."

Hmmm....mebbe it'd be a good job for Kyle and Brent to do, sort of as a penance.

 

[CapsLock]

dig-

Isn't that the problem, big money keeping down honest questions or criticism for fear of repraisal. Even to the extent of getting Futuremark to back down from commenting on the performance of their own benchmark!

Sheesh, carumba. When they were using clip planes for petes sake!!!

I am a little sorry I picked on democoder for my ranting and have edited a bit to remove this angle.

I don't blame people for taking the Nvidia=evil approach because anything less would not be a threat and would get even less response (if thats possible) I am quite sure forgiveness would occur with some real PR and not the kind which equates to lies and spin.

Caps

 

[digitalwanderer]

dig-

Isn't that the problem, big money keeping down honest questions or criticism for fear of repraisal. Even to the extent of getting Futuremark to back down from commenting on the performance of their own benchmark!

Sheesh, carumba. When they were using clip planes for petes sake!!!

No argument from me, but big money can be a real problem and horribly scary one especially since most sites I know of aren't exactly in the fortune500.

The best way to solve the problem would be for the big money to quit acting like such arseholes, but I don't really expect them to do that unless it means they can improve their profit...which in this case I think it can.