news.buyenne.com

Enlarge / The RTX 3080 Ti. (credit: Sam Machkovech)

After years of hinting, Nvidia announced yesterday that it would be open-sourcing part of its Linux GPU driver, as both Intel and AMD have done for years now. Previously, Linux users who wanted to avoid Nvidia's proprietary driver had to rely on reverse-engineered software like the Nouveau project, which worked best on older hardware and offered incomplete support at best for all of Nvidia's GPU features.

"This release is a significant step toward improving the experience of using NVIDIA GPUs in Linux, for tighter integration with the OS, and for developers to debug, integrate, and contribute back," says a blog post attributed to several Nvidia employees. "For Linux distribution providers, the open source modules increase ease of use. They also improve the out-of-the-box user experience to sign and distribute the NVIDIA GPU driver. Canonical and SUSE are able to immediately package the open kernel modules with Ubuntu and SUSE Linux Enterprise Distributions."

Nvidia is specifically releasing an open source kernel driver under a dual MIT/GPL license and is not currently open-sourcing parts of the driver that run in user space. This includes drivers for OpenGL, Vulkan, OpenCL, and CUDA, which are still closed source, in addition to the firmware for the GPU System Processor (GSP). Nvidia says these drivers "will remain closed source and published with pre-built binaries," so it doesn't sound like there are immediate plans to release open source versions.

Enlarge (credit: Scharon Harding)

A USB-C monitor is a good way to minimize the cables needed for your setup. And if that setup is for work, where webcams have become virtually mandatory, a monitor with an integrated camera lets you skip an additional cable. The HP Z24m G3 I checked out this week seems like it will be a decent option for workers who don't need the highest-resolution panel, either because they're content with fewer pixels or use a multi-monitor setup.

At a 2560×1440 resolution, the 23.8-inch monitor still has a good pixel density of 123 pixels per inch. USB-C with the current max power delivery of 100 W makes it a good fit for Windows-based thin-and-lights and MacBooks that can charge over the port.

I didn't get the chance to analyze the Z24m's image quality, but HP said the IPS panel is aimed at professional creators. It should have sufficient color coverage for working with Windows and the web while also serving Mac users with 99 percent sRGB and 90 percent DCI-P3 color coverage. Any errors should be invisible to the naked eye, as the company says the panel has a Delta E of <2.

• 

  Sony's WH-1000XM5 wireless noise-canceling headphones. They cost $399. [credit: Jeff Dunn ]

Sony's WH-1000XM4 has been widely regarded as one of the best pairs of noise-canceling headphones for most people since launching in August 2020, and we at Ars have recommended them in various buying guides over that time. On Thursday, Sony is announcing the next iteration of those flagship wireless headphones: the WH-1000XM5. They'll arrive on May 20 for $400, which is a $50 increase over the existing XM4.

An updated design

In general, the WH-1000XM5—which remains a mouthful of a name—aren't a massive shift from their predecessor, and interestingly, Sony will continue to sell the prior XM4 alongside this new pair. Still, there are a few changes of note. The most immediately noticeable tweaks are in the design department: Compared to the XM4, the XM5 has a thinner headband and wider earcups that should better fit those with larger ears. The earcups use a softer synthetic leather material, and the slider used to adjust the headband's fit now has a smoother, notchless action.

I've only had the XM5 on hand for about a day as of this writing, which unfortunately isn't enough time for me to give more definitive impressions. At first blush, though, the fit feels roomier and lighter on the head, despite only weighing 4 grams less than the XM4 (at 250 g, compared to 254 g before). The XM4 were already comfortable, but the XM5 appears to distribute its weight a bit more evenly, putting less pressure on the sides of your head without letting in a ton of outside noise. They're closer to Bose's QuietComfort 45 in that regard, albeit not quite as spacious-feeling.

Enlarge / This promotional image for the June 12 Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase now looks a bit like an eclipse of bad news about Starfield's delay into 2023. (credit: Xbox)

Last year, Microsoft and Bethesda made a surprising announcement: Its upcoming open-world space-exploration game Starfield would launch on November 22, 2022. While the resulting "11-22-22" release date looked nifty at the time, it wasn't meant to be.

On Thursday, Bethesda announced via social media that Starfield would be delayed to the "first half of 2023," and it would be joined by Redfall, a vampire-themed co-op shooter that was previously pegged to a "summer 2022" launch window.

30-day countdown begins

There has been no new footage of either upcoming game since the last time Xbox hosted a lengthy first-party game-preview presentation... all the way back in June 2021. Starfield, developed by the core Bethesda Game Studios team, has received a few peeks into its behind-the-scenes process, but they have been limited to concept art and developer interviews. Arkane Austin's Redfall, meanwhile, has been even more mysterious, with only a single alpha test leak from September 2021 showing anything resembling real gameplay.