how many hours background i would have to put into learning before i could even attempt a device driver. Depending if could i even get hold of the docs to tell me how to program the device in the first place?
Considering I've closely observed the development of the 3d drivers for R100 and R200 series of ATI chips (
http://3d.morphos-team.net/), the lacking quality of the ATI documentation and other considerations, I can say with some confidence that you could expect it to take years, not hours.
