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Display Doctor for Linux - Preview version available
Scitechsoft has released a preview release of their Display Doctor for Linux. It now supports more cards, an SVGAlib wrapper so you can use any card with any resolution and use SVGAlib based applications (Quake, Snes9X etc..), and a universal text mode driver to switch to any text mode you want and your card can support. Evaluation version is now available - worth a shot if I may recommend.
card: millenium G200 8M SGRAM
monitor, NEC Multisync P1250+
(running glibc version, on SuSE6.0)
i always have problem with XFree SVGA server(yes the new one) so i race out to try this product... anything that will get rid of the bright line on the right side of the screen, or anything that would tune the center correctly, anything without making my text in X look fuzzy on the right edge is good for me.
so i installed it, ran it, it looks really nice that they have so many modes, and real professional looking tunning programs, but...
GUESS WHAT?
no matter what modes i selected, it flatly REFUSE to do 24 bits color depth!!! the most i get is 16 bit! for my $1300 hardware??
so i switched back to XFree server. Problematic but at least working.
I used display doctor several years ago to play duke nukem 3d, and it is a good product. I'm sure that scitech has nothing but good intentions, and they they're not trying to subvert linux in any way.
but...
I have to agree, system components should be open source. binary-only system components leave the door open for a single individual or company to exercise undue control over their users.
I have nothing against commercial "closed source" software. I write it for a living, and I intend to do so for some time. I don't mind paying money for commercial software either. It's not about money, it's about freedom.
TedC
The more potential software has to be good, the more we (slashdot) digs it when it's endangering our freedom.
Commerical software, of all types, can only offer us short term success. Before Scitech came along, graphics card companies would have started to feel pressure to release their specs for xfree. Now they can just get Scitech to sign an NDA and say deal with it.
Supporting Scitech will retard the release of new free video card information. Before we get the massive influx of people using Linux who don't know what a binary is in the next year, we should vote with boycotting this closed core software to further our open software agenda, while our votes mean more because there are fewer who would accept Scitech now than there will ever be.
Companies that come in and want a slice of Linux had better not affect me when they change their standards to make their own distros, modify software, etc. I run a slackware (server), Debian (workstation) network in my house and I don't want to see entire agendas for the operating system development fork, however, if it must, it will be to get away from companies who want a slice of my stability, my wallet and my control so they can make capital on the unsuspecting.
I'm worried. This is an operating system that no one wants to compromise the life of, not Duke Nukem.
For those who don't know, Duke Nukem 3D came packaged on the CD with Scitech Display Doctor shareware. You could play with it for 30 days, then every time you booted up your computer, you had to wait and all the modeX modes were disabled.
Sounds like a compromise for the greatest OS I've ever enjoyed.
I don't like the smell of this thing. I've used the DOS version of this before, back when I still used DOS, but now, I feel differently.
This kind of functionality is much to important to be non-free. I'm afraid that new applications might come out that require something like this. Why write drivers? SciTech will do it for you! Bah!
Avoid this like the plague. Please do not let this become an established product. It could seriously damage the community.
For those people who already have Legacy cards from manufacturers that don't support users this could be very useful.
However if you are buying a new machine or a new video card remember to ask about support in XFree86 and Linux. This isn't just important for actual users of Linux and FreeBSD but also for those who have any kind of thought to upgrading the OS in the future. Weather to the new version of what you already use or to some other OS.
Remember that those cards which only worked in Windows 3.11 but not OS/2 did not get Win95 support and likewise all the NT-3.xx and Windows 95 only cards were left behind when NT-4 shipped.
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
I'm using my Millennium with fbcon / 2.2.3 and at 1024x768 - 72Hz the text console has new life (and none of the fonts are hosed as they are with SVGATextMode). Quite nice, and it has the potential to replace svgalib for games and such. Isn't anyone out there using this?
I just wish I could get it to work on my laptop.
support gun control: take guns from cops
I hear they are also working on a BeOS version of SDD. With ATI and 3dfx writing their own BeOS drivers, and Be Inc writing Nvidia drivers, BeOS will support alot of graphic cards soon. (I also heard one company is working on 3dlabs drivers. I think it's driversoft)
---
fbcon is really nice. My only complaint is that it can't display text with anywhere near the speed that a typical console can. When I type ls /usr/bin it takes forever to display the files. Is there anyway to speed this up? Also, are there any graphical applications that utilize fbcon yet?
The same way Accelerated X and Metro-X can. One problem with hardware like video cards is that the manufacturers don't allways release their full specs and api's for the cards at least without signing an NDA first. This leaves the XFree86 Project at a major disadvantage for alot of the newer video cards, 3D API's etc, who have to resort to reverse engineering etc just to create a drive that will run at all.
On the other hand commercial based company's like Accel X, Metro, Sci-Tech who keep there code closed are able and I'd believe more than willing to sign NDA's with the hardware manufactures. With full access to the spec's etc for the hardware they are then able to create drivers and servers that take full advantage of the cards.
Granted this sucks but until hardware manufactures start releasing their code, specs etc to the general public without NDA requirments, then at least in this case the open source alternatives will allways be at a major disadvantage. And until that does change I'll continue to use my accelerated-X server because I havn't personally found anything that supports my hardware better or faster.
Well, I *thought* this was going to be cool. Some Linux support from a historically DOS/Windows company. I was wrong.
Let's see...I install their program, it hangs up the machine. I had to hit the RESET button! I've *never* had to do that under Linux. To be completely honest, I even had to look for that button on my case...I wasn't even sure I had it connected to the motherboard...
Fine, I start the install again and this time it goes through. I run the config tool and the machine hangs again! Unbelievable! Another liberal use of the RESET button and I'm back in.
By this time, I'm not particularly pleased with this product. The trend continues. I eventually get the stupid thing installed and I start up X. Yup, just like they promised, the behaviour was just like under Windows. I got a wavy screen and resolution support only up to 1024x768. If I wanted more, I was gonna have to edit the config file myself... Where's the benefit again? No thanks.
Plus, when I attempt to switch into full screen mode for VMWare, the f*cking thing hangs again. I decide to pitch this software out the virtual window when I next RESET(!) and reboot. Not so simple...
There is *no* uninstall program *or* instructions. What a piece of crap. So I manually back this thing out, update my own XF86Config file with what little they actually did do right (800x600 and 640x480 was nicer from their config file than mine), and I'm much happier as a result.
I will give them one thing, though. Their page says their product behaves just like the DOS/Windows counterpart. Well, that it does... With all the resets and reboots, I was quickly reminded why I switched from Windows to begin with...
ThomasD