Nvidia Releases Geforce 495 Driver For Linux

Nvidia’s drivers for Linux are often under scrutiny. They are often a number of version numbers after their Windows counterparts, contain closed source code and are distributed as a so-called BLOB (Binary Large Object) where binary data is stored as a unit. Nvidia has also stuck to standards other than those that the Linux world in general has gone against.

Among other things, this has caused problems for the desktop competitor Wayland in Linux. In short, a desktop composer is the one who decides how things that are rendered are to be presented in the interface. A clear example of this can be found on the Windows page, where Microsoft with Windows Vista introduced the desktop composer Desktop Window Manager and the theme Aero.

Since the first distributions with graphical interfaces, Linux uses one based on the X Windows System (often called X, X.org or X11), which, however, is considered poorly adapted for modern computers. The alternative is called Wayland and in recent years the protocol has gained momentum. With AMD and Intel, there is now robust driver support for the features required by Wayland.

At the beginning of the year, Nvidia promised improved support for Wayland and before the summer, the first tentative steps came from the graphics giant. With the launch of driver version 495.29, Nvidia is taking a much bigger step towards embracing the Wayland protocol. In addition to enhanced support for Wayland, the driver introduces an indicator of whether Resizeable Bar is enabled in the Linux control panel.

The new driver is still in beta and in the usual order with drivers for Linux, it is a few steps behind Windows, where Nvidia is up in version number 496.13.

Is Wayland support with Nvidia something you have been waiting for?