

25 years of X - robin_reala
http://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/354408/4b4c2fce98e785ad/

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pierrefar
I would argue that the biggest stumbling block to Linux going mainstream is
actually X. Get rid of it, start something sensible from scratch that's based
on current (i.e. more developed) ideas than what was leading edge 25 years
ago. Seriously.

Case in point: trying to configure two screens on Linux is anything between
painful to downright impossible. In 2009! Windows 95 had that ability.

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CrLf
The biggest stumbling block is not X, not by a long shot. The biggest
stumbling block is the lack of a unifying vision.

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dschobel
if we're talking about X the standard and not Xorg the implementation,
shouldn't the former _be_ the grand unifying vision?

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CrLf
X the standard and Xorg the implementation have been one and the same thing
for a while.

But X is just a component for the system, and what is lacking is a vision for
the system as a whole. Actually, unifying visions have emerged for many facets
of the system (as proven by the success on the server and embedded space),
just not for the desktop.

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astine
Interesting read. The part where they started to break components in the code
to see if people were still using them made me raise my eyebrows a little.

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nitrogen
From a comment: _3) Set pallette_ [sic] _(port 0x3C8 & 0x3C9)_

I grew quite nostalgic when I read that line. I have fond memories of tweaking
the VGA palette back in my DOS days. Palette manipulation made it easy to do
some kinds of special effects that would take a lot of GPU power today. There
was actually an experimental version of tvtime that would wait on port 0x3DA
for vertical sync (to work around the lack of sufficient vsync support in X).
I tried to convince vektor to keep it in, because that's the best my TV had
ever looked, anywhere, on any device.

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dschobel
Odd that they don't mention the XFree86/Xorg drama from a few years back.

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krakensden
The subscriber-only link seems in bad taste.

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robin_reala
Oops, I didn’t even notice that! I’m not a subscriber myself, was linked to
this page from Tim Bray’s twitter feed (<http://twitter.com/timbray>).
Regardless, it seems to be sanctioned by the site themselves, if their big
advert at the top of the page is any indication.

