[ydl-gen] dvi/video out on alubook 1,67 ghz (powerbook 5,6)

[Derick Centeno]

Ok, Jarvis!
At least we have discovered common ground!

A minor point, truly.  I'm not "keen", one way or another on  
recommending which VRAM he should use; I had been merely responding to  
what he revealed regarding his posting.
I'm aware of the different VRAM and associated video out ports; I was  
attempting to clarify that to him.  Unfortunately, he revealed only a  
little more information one posting at a time.  Indeed, part of the  
difficulty is how Benoit initially described his interest or what he  
was attempting to do.  So of course, anyone noticing a portion of my  
communications in responding to him could reasonably assume, as you  
did, that I had a particular intention or agenda.

And yes, it is difficult to penetrate sufficiently what Dual Head  
actually means as TSS describes it; your description and analysis of  
what they did is correct.  This is why my conclusion in regards to what  
Benoit was concerned about was that he was better of using OS X, -- at  
least whatever he wants to do could then get done, as opposed to  
engaging in the preliminary necessities (hacking Xorg, pulling teeth  
from TSS, and whatever else) in preparing to begin the task itself.   
Someone at TSS may be able to clarify the context of the details  
further, but I doubt that whether someone is sufficiently available to  
explain whatever may be necessary.

I do have hope that Benoit is up to the challenge of hacking Xorg but  
he may prefer to just get the function he desires and move on to  
something else that truly is his actual focus.  What I am "keen" on, to  
use your term, is that he achieves whatever his intention is -- as  
opposed to dealing with these preliminary difficulties which frustrates  
his intended focus.  As all of us have a finite number of breaths, time  
is not just money -- it is our lives!  So we each must prioritize and  
decide what is the right tool to engage upon a certain function; this  
remains uniquely dependent upon what each individual is choosing to  
work or focus on at the moment.  For Benoit, whatever he currently has  
in mind, could be done faster probably within OS X.

If of course, he does come up with a hack for Xorg to achieve his  
intended goal, well then that contribution to the open source community  
would be a wonderful thing!  It is just, in my thinking, unfortunate  
that the old phrase, "necessity is the mother of invention" seems to  
apply again and again and again ... ad infinitum!  Surely we are at the  
point that if someone (here we are referring to any potential OS) does  
something better and it is available now, my word let's go with that  
and move on to that task!  That kind of thinking of course is why  
Microsoft is the behemoth it is, and why Unix and Linux are so sturdy.   
Of course, it is up to each individual to decide what that "necessity"  
is, and therein lies the difficulty as well.

Ah, the joys of human existence.  Reminds me of Nietzche's work, "All  
too Human", here's a link if your interested:
http://www.publicappeal.org/library/nietzsche/ 
Nietzsche_human_all_too_human/

At least we are close enough in accord regarding the problems which  
Benoit faces.  It is perhaps enough to wish him every possible success.
And yes, thanks for your retraction.

This was an interesting exchange for the beginning of the year, no?

Best wishes...

On Jan 16, 2006, at 5:41 AM, Jurvis LaSalle wrote:

> 	I fully retract the FUD statement.  It was hastily tacked on as I was  
> late leaving for a dinner appointment.  My apologies for insinuating  
> that you were an Apple shill trying to get Benoit to fork out extra  
> dough for video hardware he may not need.
> 	Despite your conjectures, I'm very sure the problem ultimately boils  
> down to what size display Benoit has.  The 30" would require this  
> extra VRAM and dual-link dvi cable that you're so keen on.  If he has  
> a 20" or 23" display, he should be able to get dual head working with  
> his current hardware and some creative editing in his xorg conf.
> 	Also in dispute is just what TSS means by Dual head on that page and  
> whether or not they are stating if something is possible or just  
> supported.  After reading this page:  
> http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/support/hardware/breakdown/index.php? 
> hw_cat_id=4  (where they still frustratingly only refer to the 15"  
> model with 128MB of VRAM), I can only assume that what they call  
> "external video Yes*" is what I would call dual head support.  Which  
> makes clicking on the Video Information link that much more confusing  
> when it says "Dual head: Probably not..."  Most likely they are  
> referring to dual-link dvi there.  Perhaps someone at terra soft can  
> clarify further.
> 	I will stick with my assertion that support from TSS or not, if  
> Benoit has a 20" or 23" ACD, he will be able to hack it together in  
> time with hard work and plenty of coffee.  So keep hope Derick- Benoit  
> may yet be able to remain booted into linux for the foreseeable future  
> ;-D
>
> JL


========================
"The language I speak is understood the world over."
-- Joseph Haydn replying to Mozart's request that Haydn not travel to  
England due to his lack of familiarity with the language.