Re:Linux support from ATI=crap (Score 1)

See, now that is an intelligent answer. And by someone who is not afraid to show their identity. I agree that the 3% are most likely, however not always, power users, enthusiasts, or early adopters. And I agree that they are most likely, however not always, to effect the purchasing decisions of people they know. Personally, I have not had problems with a single ATI card I've had (and I've had a few), excepting a heatsink fan that died and was easily replaced. Maybe you have had problems, but there is also the possibility that those problems arose from hardware conflict rather than driver issues. There is a reason that the Dell's and HP's and Alienware's and, dare I mention them, Gateway's of the world only offer certain video cards with their systems. They've gone through the product research and verified that ALL the components of their systems will work together with limited or no conflict.

Now, getting back to those infamous "3%", these users are more likely to build their own systems, much like I did. And, sure, I'll even bet that 80% of them actually research the hardware before they buy it. But, do they research deep enough to find conflicts within each product? Do they KNOW that "this ATI card" is guaranteed to work with "that Asus motherboard" and "that OSI RAM" and "this Creative soundcard", etc., etc., etc.? I doubt it. They may go as far as ensuring the board and video card work together, but I doubt they research ALL components together.