From: dwex@mtgzfs3.att.com (David E. Wexelblat) Subject: Re: USENIX 93, Coherent / X and Linux.....(Long) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1993 13:53:21 GMT
In article <C97DnB.C88@cyberspace.org> jeffk@cyberspace.org (Jeff Kopmanis) writes:
>
> >1) Why not just configure X at install time or automate the installation
> > with queries to fill in the unique configuration details of the mouse,
> > graphics cards, display timings, etc...
> >
> >2) Update and utilize the Xconfig from the TAMU distribution to serve
> > as a kind of Universal Xconfig. This would still require the
> > mouse and chipset defined, but it basically rules out the hunt and
> > search for timings.
>
> Here, here!
>
> This is the single biggest headache of setting up Linux when X is
> needed/wanted. The sc spreadsheet files are nice, but they don't do the
> whole job, and they don't solve the questionable aspects of it.
>
> Surely, some configurations can be come up with that work on a majority of
> VGA cards at some resolution. X *can* work optimally with any card, but if
> a simplistic setup program got you 80% of the way, that would be a far
> better solution for more individuals. Shouldn't be exceedingly tough.
>
I REALLY, REALLY wish that all these people who say or think, "it shouldn't
be exceedingly tough" would actually TRY IT before they broadcast such
uninformed opinions in a public forum.
Don't you people think that we would have a simpler mechanism in place if
one could be developed easily? Guess what? It IS "exceedingly tough". We
have to (a) reimplement BIOS functionality, or (b) only support a subset of
hardware, or (c) come up with a way to call the BIOS directly, under all the
OSs we support.
That said, we are working on new configuration tools and mechanisms for 2.0.
Hopefully we will be able to do a lot better than what we have today. But
this is a HUGE amount of work. If you take a look at most of the commercial
X servers, they support a limited range of boards, and that's it. I don't
want to wind up with XFree86 doing the same thing.
> BTW: I have a 256K Paradise VGA that will run 800x600x16 under Windoze
> 3.1. I have a CTX CVP-5468 color SVGA interlaced monitor that will handle
> higher resolutions and colors. Anybody got an Xconfig that works for this?
> Just the card would go a long way for me...
> --
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Jeff Kopmanis (Ann Arbor, Michigan) | email: jeffk@cyberspace.org
> Organizer of the Linux Software Map (LSM) | phone: (313) 393-4784 (work)
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------