That all depends how you use it. An OS? Definitely a tool, but it also has plans, blueprints, etc. for how to use them and build on them. Honestly, software is more like machinery- it's defined, more or less, by the inputs it receives, the outputs it creates, and the configuration tools that the machine has.
Some machines do very simple things, like turn a wheel and move a piston- but this very simple mechanism can be very valuable when it comes in the form of a twelve-ton press. Other machines are much more complicated, such as NC or CNC machines, which take a multitude of inputs and turn them into one output. Looking at the repository in question here, this one thing, built on Python (a specification for how to put machines together) is more or less its own little factory- it can take raw inputs, and spit out a usable, finished product.
To me,
textgenrnn
what nVidia seems to have done here is borrow an entire factory, feed it some materials, and do some finishing afterwards. From a manufacturing perspective, that's totally fine- but generally the company that does the work in the middle gets paid, and given that this is a free repository that I doubt nVidia donated to, it would, at the very least, be nice to see minimaxr get some credit for his work.
Some machines do very simple things, like turn a wheel and move a piston- but this very simple mechanism can be very valuable when it comes in the form of a twelve-ton press. Other machines are much more complicated, such as NC or CNC machines, which take a multitude of inputs and turn them into one output. Looking at the repository in question here, this one thing, built on Python (a specification for how to put machines together) is more or less its own little factory- it can take raw inputs, and spit out a usable, finished product.
To me, textgenrnn what nVidia seems to have done here is borrow an entire factory, feed it some materials, and do some finishing afterwards. From a manufacturing perspective, that's totally fine- but generally the company that does the work in the middle gets paid, and given that this is a free repository that I doubt nVidia donated to, it would, at the very least, be nice to see minimaxr get some credit for his work.
People still buy tools, too.