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I agree with that somewhat. But they still lost their main GPU kernel driver developer AND Also their uber productive user space GPU driver developer. With espe

I agree with that somewhat. But they still lost their main GPU kernel driver developer AND Also their uber productive user space GPU driver developer. With especially the loss of Alyssa leaving a basically unfillable hole.

GeekyBear 1y ago
Alyssa's work was already upstreamed in May, and the driver is ready to go when the kernel is ready to accept Rust GPU drivers. > We are pleased to announce that our graphics driver userspace API (uAPI) has been merged into the Linux kernel. This major milestone allows us to finally enable OpenGL, OpenCL and Vulkan support for Apple Silicon in upstream Mesa. This is the only time a graphics driver’s uAPI has been merged into the kernel independent of the driver itself, which was kindly allowed by the kernel graphics subsystem (DRM) maintainers to facilitate upstream Mesa enablement while the required Rust abstractions make their way upstream. We are grateful for this one-off exception, made possible with close collaboration with the kernel community. https://asahilinux.org/2025/05/progress-report-6-15/ https://asahilinux.org/2025/05/progress-report-6-15/ Alyssa didn't abandon the project, she completed it.
- rowanG077 1y ago
  Sure for M1/M2 it's somewhat correct that it is "completed". M3 and beyond have a lot of GPU differences though(A completely new microcode afaik), so the loss is still traumatic. I also don't think GPU perf is on the level of OSX though I did not do a recent one to one bench.
  - GeekyBear 1y ago
    Yes, and as I mentioned earlier, the new leadership team has decided to upstream the existing work before moving on to work on supporting newer chips.
    - rowanG077 1y ago
      yes you said that. That doesn't mean losing two very important team members who both have unique skillset just doesn't have any impact. You really can't just waive that away with "New leadership has decided to upstream the existing work before moving on to work on supporting newer chips". That Alyssa is no longer involved definitely is a huge loss for Asahi, I'm very surprised you can even attempt to deny this.
      - GeekyBear 1y ago
        > That Alyssa is no longer involved definitely is a huge loss for Asahi Are you under the impression that Linux is about to abandon OpenGL and Vulkan in favor of a new graphics API that only Alyssa could possibly implement?
        rowanG077 1y ago
        No. I am under the impression that there is no replacement on the horizon that could take on the challenge of further optimizing the GPU driver and work on M3/M4/M5 GPU support once upstreaming efforts have settled down.
        GeekyBear 1y ago
        Alyssa wasn't doing the GPU driver work. Marcan already provided the tools needed to capture the data being passed back and forth between MacOS and the GPU, so you can see exactly what the newer versions of the SOC are doing that is different.
        rowanG077 1y ago
        I think you are confused. There are two drivers here. The kernel space driver mostly developed by lina. And the user space driver developed by Alyssa. Both are drivers. And of the two the user space driver is an order of magnitude more complex.

GeekyBear 1y ago

Alyssa's work was already upstreamed in May, and the driver is ready to go when the kernel is ready to accept Rust GPU drivers. > We are pleased to announce that our graphics driver userspace API (uAPI) has been merged into the Linux kernel. This major milestone allows us to finally enable OpenGL, OpenCL and Vulkan support for Apple Silicon in upstream Mesa. This is the only time a graphics driver’s uAPI has been merged into the kernel independent of the driver itself, which was kindly allowed by the kernel graphics subsystem (DRM) maintainers to facilitate upstream Mesa enablement while the required Rust abstractions make their way upstream. We are grateful for this one-off exception, made possible with close collaboration with the kernel community. https://asahilinux.org/2025/05/progress-report-6-15/ https://asahilinux.org/2025/05/progress-report-6-15/ Alyssa didn't abandon the project, she completed it.

rowanG077 1y ago
Sure for M1/M2 it's somewhat correct that it is "completed". M3 and beyond have a lot of GPU differences though(A completely new microcode afaik), so the loss is still traumatic. I also don't think GPU perf is on the level of OSX though I did not do a recent one to one bench.
- GeekyBear 1y ago
  Yes, and as I mentioned earlier, the new leadership team has decided to upstream the existing work before moving on to work on supporting newer chips.
  - rowanG077 1y ago
    yes you said that. That doesn't mean losing two very important team members who both have unique skillset just doesn't have any impact. You really can't just waive that away with "New leadership has decided to upstream the existing work before moving on to work on supporting newer chips". That Alyssa is no longer involved definitely is a huge loss for Asahi, I'm very surprised you can even attempt to deny this.
    - GeekyBear 1y ago
      > That Alyssa is no longer involved definitely is a huge loss for Asahi Are you under the impression that Linux is about to abandon OpenGL and Vulkan in favor of a new graphics API that only Alyssa could possibly implement?
      - rowanG077 1y ago
        No. I am under the impression that there is no replacement on the horizon that could take on the challenge of further optimizing the GPU driver and work on M3/M4/M5 GPU support once upstreaming efforts have settled down.
        GeekyBear 1y ago
        Alyssa wasn't doing the GPU driver work. Marcan already provided the tools needed to capture the data being passed back and forth between MacOS and the GPU, so you can see exactly what the newer versions of the SOC are doing that is different.
        rowanG077 1y ago
        I think you are confused. There are two drivers here. The kernel space driver mostly developed by lina. And the user space driver developed by Alyssa. Both are drivers. And of the two the user space driver is an order of magnitude more complex.