Ubuntu Xorg maintainer Bryce Harrington recently demonstrated the BulletProof-X feature that is planned for inclusion in Ubuntu 7.10. BulletProof-X provides a failsafe mode which will ensure that users never have to manually configure their graphics hardware settings from the command line.
If Xorg fails to start, the failsafe mode will initiate with minimalistic settings, low resolution, and a limited number of colors. The failsafe mode also automatically runs Ubuntu's new GTK-based display configuration utility so that users can easily test various display settings and choose a configuration that will work properly with their hardware. The display configuration utility provides a simple mouse-driven interface that is very intuitive. The configuration utility even has limited multihead suport, but unfortunately doesn't support more than two screens yet.
One of the most impressive new features in Ubuntu's BulletProof-X implementation is support for reading monitor settings from a Windows driver CD. "Unfortunately, it doesn't work to select just any of the generic monitors, so users may find they need to trial-and-error a solution. Fortunately, there is a cool new feature—Add Model which allows users to add a new monitor by using the Windows driver CD that comes with their monitor," Harrington writes. "This uses a script to parse the Windows *.inf file to get the hsync, vsync, edid, dpms, and other info to update the database locally."
BulletProof-X represents a big step forward for graphics hardware support on the Linux platform, but there are still some gaps. Poor support for more elaborate multihead configurations, for instance, is one particular area where Linux still lags behind Windows and Mac OS X. Despite the fact that the hardware support gap between Linux and proprietary platforms hasn't entirely been closed yet, the effort that developers have invested in features like BulletProof-X deliver tangible usability improvements that contribute to a more positive user experience. BulletProof-X and recent improvements to XRandR now resolve the vast majority of issues that once detracted from the quality of Linux graphics hardware support.
Although the feature works as demonstrated by Harrington, the code hasn't landed in Ubuntu quite yet. "There's still some rough edges," Harrington writes, "but this feature is nearly ready to go and I'm expecting it to be in Gutsy [Ubuntu 7.10] relatively soon." Those who wish to assist can provide feedback in the Xorg tester thread in the Ubuntu forums.
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