It's hard to answer why vendors won't release specs even for older
boards. We'd have to get answers from the vendors to know for sure. I've
heard a number of responses and have a few theories. I'm not going to
say how valid or invalid any specific one is and these apply to lots
more than just graphics:
Intellectual Property : They don't want their design ideas to be stolen
by another company.
Developer Support : They are afraid that if they release the spec
they'll get too many questions to handle.
Bad Reputation : If a driver doesn't perform well or damages someones
equipment they don't want to be held responsible.
Violating Patents : If they release specs some other company may see
that the company violated an existing patent.
Effort to Release : The documentation doesn't exist in any form useful
to a developer. They have to put work into making it ready for release.
Limits sales of new hardware : If you get older hardware working you
might not buy or delay buying new versions.
You can argue most of these points both ways, but I've heard all of them
in one form or another. In most cases it simply comes down to the fact
that if it doesn't make them money they don't want to do it, and there's
no way to make money from old hardware.
- |Daryll
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