mazdaman asks: When will VIA begin to publish chipset errata like other chipset manufacturers and announce steppings (with documentation) to the chipset.

VIA: We do in fact make chipset errata and stepping information available to our OEM, motherboard, and System Integration partners. However, we don't release it to everyone on the Internet because this can lead to unnecessary confusion among end users.

slkh asks: As RAMBUS claimed to have patents over SDRAM and DDR RAM, many companies have been involved in the lawsuit. Will VIA as a motherboard chipset producer be the next target? What strategy will VIA take if RAMBUS targets VIA?

VIA: As I'm sure you have seen, Rambus is already involved in litigation with some of the memory companies and we are obviously monitoring the situation.

lmpulse asks:

1. When will we see regular updates of the VIA 4in1 drivers? Currently many users have to run on beta drivers for their systems to work in win2k with a 686b southgate chipset.

VIA: We receive a lot of emails from users about this issue, and are working to improve the support that we provide in this regard. One of the problems we have is that when we release beta drivers to our motherboard customers, these drivers often find themselves on the Internet very quickly - even before we have finally approved them! Then we get a stream of emails complaining about issues with them. To make it easier for people to know what the most up-to-date drivers are, we have redesigned the driver download page so that the information is provided in a more user friendly format. We also strongly advise that users only download drivers from the VIA home page, as unforeseen problems may occur with the beta drivers that are made available on various websites.

2. Can VIA tell us on their plans for driver support of their motherboard products?

VIA: We work closely with our motherboard partners by providing them with our latest beta drivers and quickly respond to any feedback that they provide us. This is an ongoing process, and we publish updated drivers on our website as soon as they have been fully tested for compatibility.

dcmadz asks: When will an IDE busmastering drivers be available to overcome the compatibility problems with CD writers and tape drives? According to your website, VIA are working with CD writer manufacturers to come up with a solution, so when will we be seeing this?

VIA: These are already available in our latest driver updates.