X.Org News Archives

Late last month RandR 1.3 with panning support arrived and was committed to the forthcoming X Server 1.6 release. Many drivers have picked up the RandR 1.3 support presented thus far, but now the properties support has finally landed for version 1.3 of the Resize and Rotate extension.

With the grunt of the development efforts on the Linux 2.6.28 kernel winding down, soon the merge window for Linux 2.6.29 will open and that's where Intel is prepared to (finally) commit the kernel mode-setting framework and code that supports their hardware to the mainline Linux kernel. With this milestone finally coming, Intel's Jesse Barnes has updated libdrm with the needed files.

For those still living in XFree86 land, version 4.8.0 of this X Window System implementation is now available. This is the first major update to XFree86 in about a year and a half, but with changes that aren't too exciting and have already been available through X.Org.

There seemed to have been little buzz generated by this announcement when it first came about, but Tungsten Graphics has been acquired by VMware. They were acquired in late November for undisclosed terms and their only news mention of this acquisition is below (from their website).

Keith Packard pushed in 22 new commits to the server-1.6-branch of the X Server Git repository last night and then tagged X Server 1.6 Beta 3. This update is mostly made up of RandR 1.3 work along with a few commits related to X Input and DRI2.

Following a slight delay, Keith Packard has now tagged the second beta for X Server 1.6 in its git repository branch. Recent the 1.6 server has received updated documentation (just man pages), an upgraded dependence on dri2proto for the continued DRI2 work, and various X Input and XQuartz improvements. The commits to the server 1.6 branch are available through cgit.

Luc Verhaegen has announced today that the X.Org Foundation will once again have a development room at next year's FOSDEM. The Free Open-Source Developers' European Meeting is taking place on the 7th and 8th of February in Brussels, Belgium.

As part of his work on Multi-Pointer X, Peter Hutterer had developed the Generic Event Extension for X.Org, or commonly referred to as XGE. The X Generic Event Extension makes it possible for clients to reuse a single event opcode, which is needed with MPX since the X Server is currently limited to supporting only 64 opcodes between all X extensions.

RandR 1.3, the first major update to the X.Org Resize and Rotate extension since it picked up support for display hot-plugging and other goodies, has been finalized. RandR 1.3 has been in planning since last year, but over the past few weeks has really come together and is now ready for introduction in X Server 1.6.

X Server 1.6, the update to the X Server for X.Org 7.4 that Intel had called for by year's end, has just experienced a minor setback. The release schedule that came about two weeks ago had put the release branching and initial test release to occur on the 24th of November. However, the beta 1 release has been pushed back by a few days.

Ten days ago we launched our 2008 Graphics Survey to poll Linux users on the graphics hardware they use, which of the drivers they depend upon, and X.Org-related features they are most interested in. This survey data is used not only for us, but for the respective developers as well to get a better understanding of how the Linux community at large is shaping. This is in continuation of our 2007 Linux Graphics Survey with those results being available here.

Yesterday we shared that S3 Graphics launched their Chrome 500 Series graphics cards, with the initial model being a sub-$50 USD OpenGL 3.0 capable solution. It's no power workhorse, but in the press release they shared: "Today's users will now be able to enjoy the latest Blu-ray playback, streaming HD video, DirectX 10.1, and OpenGL 3.0 applications on Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms."

Following VIA's press release this morning that they released 2D/3D/video documentation and have joined forces with OpenChrome, Xavier Bachelot has notified the OpenChrome users of what's taking place and he has provided the developers with a TODO list of items they wish to accomplish.

In addition to being responsible for Multi-Pointer X, Peter Hutterer has also been working a fair bit on the evdev driver as of late. Evdev is the generic X.Org input driver and in the most recent release that occurred yesterday it has picked up a few new key features.

Two days ago we shared the X Server 1.6 release schedule that would place the final release of this quickly-developed X Server release on the 5th of January. Keith Packard originally hoped to ship X Server 1.6 by the end of this year, but that won't happen due to the forthcoming holidays.

Back in September when the X developers raided the Edinburgh Zoo for the 2008 X Developers' Summit, Intel's Keith Packard made the rather dramatic announcement that he intended to ship X Server 1.6 and he would step up as the release manager.

Developers at Intel's Open-Source Technology Center have been busy with a number of projects, and Jesse Barnes in particular has been active with a few kernel mode-setting and Graphics Execution Manager tasks.

X Server 1.5 / X.Org 7.4 was released at the end of September. X Server 1.5.1 was quickly released around the same time and X Server 1.5.2 was released in early October. A month later we now have another bug-fix release for X Server 1.5. Adam Jackson has announced the release of X Server 1.5.3 with about 21 fixes.

Back in July we talked about Compiz support for MPX. MPX, or Multi-Pointer X, is the technology now in the mainline X Server for the X Server 1.6 release that allows multiple pointers to function independently on a single system. Today a set of patches were pushed into a Compiz Fusion git repository that allow all Compiz plug-ins to work nicely with all input devices, fixes for Input Redirection, and Input Redirection support in shift, scale, freewins, shelf, and ring. More on this work can be read in this blog post.

It will be a while before the Linux 2.6.29 kernel merge window opens, considering we are just at the second release candidate for Linux 2.6.28, but Intel's Jesse Barnes is beginning to prepare the patches for kernel-based mode-setting support.

David Reveman, a key developer of XGL and Compiz, has announced new work he has done on the DMX (Distributed Multi-head X) Server. His work is based upon the original DMX Server but he characterizes the changes as being closer to a rewrite than a simple update. With his development branch, dmx-2, the server is reported to be less complex and more maintainable, but for end-users it adds in a number of new features.

RandR 1.3 has been in planning for some time as the first update to the Resize and Rotate extension since the prominent 1.2 release that added output hot-plugging support and other features. RandR 1.3 wasn't finished in time for X Server 1.5 / X.Org 7.4, but Keith Packard has called for it in the next X Server 1.6 release.

Last week Intel's Graphics Execution Manager (GEM) had entered the Linux 2.6.28 kernel. As most of you should be aware, GEM is the new kernel memory manager for graphics processors that was developed by Intel as a replacement for TTM. Not only was there this batch of new code, but new graphics-related work continues to be pushed into the 2.6.28 kernel.

Plans for version 2 of the Direct Rendering Infrastructure, or better known as DRI2, had come about last year at the 2007 X Developers' Summit. DRI2 allows for a number of technical improvements within X.Org graphics drivers, but for end-users it provides accelerated direct rendering to redirected windows. Today though much of DRI2 is now stabilized, but it didn't come without a lot of hard work and a few key revisions.

X Server 1.5.1 was only released two and a half weeks ago as a quick bug-fix release to X Server 1.5.0, which is the server component for X.Org 7.4, but today we have a third release. Adam Jackson has announced the release of X Server 1.5.2 with 14 changes.

CyberLink's proprietary PowerDVD player has been available on Linux for sometime -- and can even be purchased through the Ubuntu store -- but today they have kicked their Linux support up by a notch or two. They have announced this morning that PowerDVD Linux and PowerCinema are now available for Linux-powered netbooks (such as the ASUS Eee PC 901) and nettops. CyberLink is now supporting the playback of high-definition digital media content on these mobile Linux devices.

One of the most recent innovations on the mobile front has been integrating two graphics processors into a notebook but not for binding them together via SLI or CrossFire but for real-time GPU switching. This technology though isn't supported on Linux, at least not yet.

The X Server 1.4.1 bug-fix release came out 212 days later than anticipated and X Server 1.5.0 was released months later than scheduled. X.Org 7.4 in fact hasn't even been released yet and that was supposed to come back in May. However, just twenty days after X Server 1.5.0 was released, we now have X Server 1.5.1.

X Server 1.5 was originally slated to receive XKB 2 and Xi 2, but these major input improvements ended up getting postponed until at least X Server 1.6. While X Server 1.5 was only released earlier this month (and X.Org 7.4 still has yet to be found), Intel is already calling for X Server 1.6 by year's end.

On behalf of the C3SL Multi-Seat Team, Paulo R. Zanoni has announced today on the X.Org mailing list the MDM, or Multi-Seat Display Manager. The Multi-Seat Display Manager isn't a new X Display Manager at all, but in fact it's a wrapper for the other managers out there such as GDM, KDM, and XDMCP. The MDM then configures the real display manager to use a multi-seat configuration, which dramatically simplifies the process for this once daunting process. The only burden placed upon the graphics card and X.Org graphics driver is support for RandR 1.2.

X.Org 7.4 was supposed to be released on September 10, but that didn't happen. Though our notes on the X.Org 7.4 release can be read here (the article was automatically published as I was traveling all day without Internet access, so I was wagering on not another delay). Today though Daniel Stone has laid out the plans for X.Org 7.5.

Mesa 7.1 was released near the end of August and X Server 1.5.0 was released just earlier this week, but the release of X.Org 7.4 consisting of all the latest X packages has yet to make it out the door.

Below are the Ogg recordings from the third and final day of the 2008 X Developers' Summit. Most notably on this day, Keith Packard talked about X Server 1.6 features and his plans to release it this year as well as clarifying his GEM/UXA work and making other comments. Also discussed were DRI2 and Red Hat's Plymouth.

Aside from the short X Server 1.6 release plans and clarifying UXA+EXA, there are a few other notes to share from this afternoon's X.Org/Intel talk.

While X Server 1.5.0 was finally released this week without X.Org 7.4, Keith Packard is calling for the release of X Server 1.6 this year. Due to Intel's customers needing some of the newest X features, Keith Packard has stepped up to be the release manager for X Server 1.6 and he will be running this release cycle on a strictly time-based schedule.

Now available are the audio recordings from the second day of XDS 2008 where a Gallium3D status update was provided along with Intel's Graphics Execution Manager and a variety of other topics such as open-source Radeon graphics, Intel community testing, and GLSL.

Activities for the second day of the 2008 X Developers' Summit are now over. The day ended with the X developers in attendance receiving a private tour of the Edinburgh Zoo, the venue for this event.

Intel's Eric Anholt just finished speaking at the 2008 X Developers' Summit about video memory management. Specifically, Eric was talking about GEM, or the Graphics Execution Manager, that came about as a result of concerns that arose about Tungsten's TTM. GEM is now the kernel memory manager they are focusing their open-source development work on for the xf86-video-intel driver and is what they hope will become the de facto standard for memory management.

This morning Tungsten Graphics was speaking at XDS 2008 about the status of Gallium3D. However, the rest of the day is filled with a variety of other OpenGL and graphics related talks. Intel's Gordon Jin had talked about Intel's community testing process, Jerome Glisse had talked about a few aspects of the open-source Radeon drivers, and Ian Romanick just gave a talk on GLSL (GL Shading Language).

Adam Jackson has just announced the release of the much anticipated X Server 1.5.0. This is the key component that will make up X.Org 7.4, which we expect to see released (hopefully) this week during the X Developer Summit. The X Server 1.5.0 release announcement can be read on the mailing list, while we'll have a full run-down on X.Org 7.4 as soon as it's released.

The 2008 X Developer Summit has started this morning. However, as there is no Internet connection here other than a single 3G cell connection for 30 people, the audio recordings and Phoronix content will not be uploaded until later today.

There's just about thirteen hours until the 2008 X Developers' Summit gets underway at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland. While attendance is low and the program was just getting thrown together at the last minute, it looks like everything will work out.

Along with VIA releasing a new open-source X.Org video driver, there is work underway on improving the status of another open-source graphics driver. Silicon Motion is perhaps more obscure than VIA Technologies when it comes to integrated graphics, but they primarily specialize in low-power graphics chips for tablet PCs.

XDS 2008 is happening next week in Edinburgh, Scotland as the X.Org Foundation's second conference for the year. Since last week when last mentioning XDS 2008, there have been a few more attendee confirmations but it still looks like this event will be slightly underpopulated. The good news though is that the program is still getting more talks towards the last minute.

Back in April at the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit, VIA had announced an open-source initiative. However, not all open-source developers have been pleased with these actions by VIA seeing as they have let down the community in the past. It's even admitted VIA has been trying to copy some aspects of AMD's open-source strategy and have stopped open-source drivers in the past. To date though VIA has released a kernel frame-buffer driver and three programming guides (but one of them wasn't exactly new). Back in July though, VIA Technologies had appointed Harald Welte as its open-source liaison after they were evaluating their open-source role. Now VIA has released its first open-source X.Org driver.

Back in May when X.Org developers were voicing concerns about Tungsten's TTM as being the kernel memory manager used for graphics drivers, Keith Packard had unveiled the work Intel had been doing for an alternate kernel memory manager. This memory manager they call GEM, or the Graphics Execution Manager, is a competing solution but it has some advantages such as being simpler to develop drivers around (A Technical Explanation of Intel's GEM). Intel then continued in throwing out their TTM code and merging GEM to master.

As a reminder, there's about a week and a half now until XDS 2008. The 2008 X Developers' Summit is taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland from the 3rd to 5th of September. This is the first X.Org conference since XDC 2008 back in April. Unfortunately though, as of today the attendance count is still a bit low and there are few planned talks.

X.Org 7.4 / X Server 1.5 has experienced an incredibly long delay in getting out the door. It was originally supposed to ship in February, then May, and now its stagnate until Mesa 7.1 ships. It looks like it will be a late August or early September release, which is almost a year after X.Org 7.3 had shipped.

Taking place this week in Los Angeles, California is SIGGRAPH 2008, which is one of the best and most well known graphics conferences. We aren't attending this conference, but the biggest news to have come out of it so far this week has been the OpenGL 3.0 (and GLSL 1.30) release. There is quite a bit of negative feedback surrounding OpenGL 3.0 as it's failed to deliver on what was previously promised by the Khronos Group and those involved with the OpenGL design process. However, plenty of other events have taken place at SIGGRAPH too.

It's six months late and X.Org 7.4 still hasn't shipped as its being held up on the release of Mesa 7.1. Hopefully though we'll see the release of Mesa 7.1, X.Org 7.4, and the X Server 1.5 in the very near future. However, there has been some last minute bloodshed before this first major X Server release in nearly a year. It appears that DRI2, which was first proposed back at 2007 X Developers' Summit, will be dropped from the X Server 1.5 series.