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DisplayLink Releases LGPL USB Graphics Code

Posted by timothy on from the more-car-computer-lust dept.

iso writes "USB graphics should be coming to Linux soon: DisplayLink has released an LGPL library that talks to one of its graphics chips over a USB connection. DisplayLink aren't one of the big guys in graphics, but it's always nice to see a hardware manufacturer go the open source route. Now, when can I get one of these touchscreen MIMOs on my Linux HTPC?"

6 of 61 comments (clear)

  1. "coming" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Are you forgetting about sisusb x.org driver ? How is this anything other than a slashvertisement?

    1. Re:"coming" by MoonBuggy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well it worked... I've already used up all my actual graphics outputs and now I'm trying to think of an excuse (other than "it's cool") to get an expensive USB touchscreen.

      Damn companies trying to trick me with that whole "making stuff I want to buy" scam.

  2. More the merry-er'er...er. by binaryspiral · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's always good to see more hardware developers opening their drivers to Linux development. I think more and more companies are realizing that linux desktops are not going to be the defacto standard, but that Linux will be in a lot of gear that could use their devices. Getting their drivers and devices cozy with linux only works in everybody's favor.

  3. Re:max resolution? by N4EA · · Score: 3, Informative

    I use one of their units to drive a second 22" display from my Macbook Pro. It works wonderfully for everything EXCEPT watching videos. Terminal sessions, Eclipse coding environments, email etc are seamless on it. As another poster said though, it doesn't have the bandwidth to deal with video very well, but I knew that going in and that wasn't my reason for buying it.

  4. Before you get too excited.... by mikeselectricstuff · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From a quick reading of the pdf, it looks like this is just an API to draw simple shapes on the remote display, NOT do all the clever automatic smart compression stuff that their Windows driver does to provide additional monitors. Potentially useful, but nowhere near equivalent functionality to the Windows/Mac versions.

  5. Nearly useless.. by dr.matrix · · Score: 5, Informative

    ..for several reasons:
    - they left out the compression
    - they have deliberately obfuscated the init sequences (haha, big deal, see below)
    - and they didn't put in anything beyond the stuff which we already
        reverse-engineered in January (see http://floe.butterbrot.org/displaylink/ ).

    Floe