You know, you really should know what you're talking about before you post... geez, where to start.
Aqua is NOT running on top of X. It is a completely different graphical subsystem. There are ports of xfree86 to darwin, but that has nothing to do with the Apple display system (aqua)
Jeez... I can't beleive I'm sitting here defending myself, but I really would like an answer to my original question...
Ok, I've used linux for many years, I've set up X more times than I can count, I know how to deal with X. This is not X.
And your bashing of mac users is just pointless. I mean seriously, just because some people like to... god damnit, I'm too tired to argue about this. I made my point, Aqua is not X, your argument has no merit, blah blah....
I really don't think it's disabled in firmware. The link in the post shows someone who claims to have it working in OS 9. I've also heard claims that with OS 9 it is enabled during boot-up, but stops when the finder loads. Plus, several have people have claimed it works under linux (although someone here just claimed that it does not). I think I'm going to go home and install OS 9 just to try this out now and confirm for myself. If it does work, then it's obviously a software hack.
Since I'm not familiar with the driver set up in OS X, where are the actual drivers located? Also, how would I get the drivers for a powerbook (I assume they are at least on the OS X install cd, if not on my hard drive)? Like I said, I don't really know much about OS X and how it's drivers are set up. Thanks
Heh, I totally agree with you (and I'm the one who posted this question =p). Problem is, everyone else seems to call it monitor spanning these days, so if you want to search for any info on the subject, that's what you need to search for. I figure if i used that term people who were trying to search for info to help me out would have an easier time.
Yeah, this is VERY annoying. The thing is, it's VERY probable that the solution to both getting an external monitor to run independantly of the built in display, and getting monitor spanning working (or multi-monitor support, for the guy who posted before you =p) are the same solution. And why run just the external monitor when you can run both? =P
It may have been because of my confusion when submitting it, but I don't think so. There were two drop down boxes, and both of them had an "apple" selection. One of them, though, had an "ask slashdot" selection. So I submitted this under "apple" and "ask slashdot". All in all the topic selection on the submit page is very non-intuitive...
Hmmm, I could try the non-mobility drivers. I'm not really familiar with the driver model in OS X, so I don't know where to start with the driver issue. The other problem could be if the feature is actually disabled higher up than the driver. It seems like it would be easier for apple to simply change their display control panel to not allow this feature. If so, maybe a hack would be as easy as writing a new display control panel? Again, I'm not familiar at all with the internals of OS X, I was hoping maybe someone with a bit more knowledge in that area could provide some insights...
Well, this appears to be yet another instance where they put up an Ask Slashdot when a 30-second Google search mostly suffices: have a look at this [macparts.de].:) Doesn't include a solution for OS X, but definately has our answer.
If you take another look, I actually linked that site in the post. That person claims to have it working in OS 9. I'm looking for a solution for OS X.
You said you are running linux now? I take it to mean you are running it on an ibook? If so, would it be possible for you to test monitor spanning? Having a definite answer whether or not it works in linux would be helpful.
Actually, OS X has great support for monitor spanning. In fact, for all the bad things about previous Mac OS versions, one thing that they always HAVE had is good multi-monitor support. It's just that apple seems to have disabled that feature JUST for the ibook.
I don't actually have OS 9 installed. I'm not interested in using OS 9 at all, I bought this machine purely to use OS X. So I haven't tried his instructions.
As for drivers, ATI doesn't appear to distribute drivers for their mobility chips. They only distribute drivers for boards that they sell retail.
1) Someone claims to have it working in OS 9, and they seemed to have just copied new drivers over (see link in the article).
2) I've heard a couple second-hand confirmations that monitor spanning works fine in linux. I haven't actually seen this working, so I can't confirm. If it comes down to it, I'll probably install linux myself to test it.
So based on those two things, I THINK it's purely a software thing (probably gimpy Mac OS drivers). I'm wondering if it's actually at the driver level, though, or if maybe it's even higher up? Like with the control panels? If so, then it might be even easier to hack.
Slashdot Mirror
Interesting idea... and this worked?
If only i had a usb keyboard to test it =)
You know, you really should know what you're talking about before you post... geez, where to start.
... god damnit, I'm too tired to argue about this. I made my point, Aqua is not X, your argument has no merit, blah blah....
Aqua is NOT running on top of X. It is a completely different graphical subsystem. There are ports of xfree86 to darwin, but that has nothing to do with the Apple display system (aqua)
Jeez... I can't beleive I'm sitting here defending myself, but I really would like an answer to my original question...
Ok, I've used linux for many years, I've set up X more times than I can count, I know how to deal with X. This is not X.
And your bashing of mac users is just pointless. I mean seriously, just because some people like to
I really don't think it's disabled in firmware. The link in the post shows someone who claims to have it working in OS 9. I've also heard claims that with OS 9 it is enabled during boot-up, but stops when the finder loads. Plus, several have people have claimed it works under linux (although someone here just claimed that it does not). I think I'm going to go home and install OS 9 just to try this out now and confirm for myself. If it does work, then it's obviously a software hack.
Bryan
I just d/l and tried it. Doesn't work... It has a "disable mirroring" option, but it doesn't work... just does nothing. =(
Since I'm not familiar with the driver set up in OS X, where are the actual drivers located? Also, how would I get the drivers for a powerbook (I assume they are at least on the OS X install cd, if not on my hard drive)? Like I said, I don't really know much about OS X and how it's drivers are set up. Thanks
Heh, I totally agree with you (and I'm the one who posted this question =p). Problem is, everyone else seems to call it monitor spanning these days, so if you want to search for any info on the subject, that's what you need to search for. I figure if i used that term people who were trying to search for info to help me out would have an easier time.
Yeah, this is VERY annoying. The thing is, it's VERY probable that the solution to both getting an external monitor to run independantly of the built in display, and getting monitor spanning working (or multi-monitor support, for the guy who posted before you =p) are the same solution. And why run just the external monitor when you can run both? =P
It may have been because of my confusion when submitting it, but I don't think so. There were two drop down boxes, and both of them had an "apple" selection. One of them, though, had an "ask slashdot" selection. So I submitted this under "apple" and "ask slashdot". All in all the topic selection on the submit page is very non-intuitive...
Hmmm, I could try the non-mobility drivers. I'm not really familiar with the driver model in OS X, so I don't know where to start with the driver issue. The other problem could be if the feature is actually disabled higher up than the driver. It seems like it would be easier for apple to simply change their display control panel to not allow this feature. If so, maybe a hack would be as easy as writing a new display control panel? Again, I'm not familiar at all with the internals of OS X, I was hoping maybe someone with a bit more knowledge in that area could provide some insights...
If you take another look, I actually linked that site in the post. That person claims to have it working in OS 9. I'm looking for a solution for OS X.
You said you are running linux now? I take it to mean you are running it on an ibook? If so, would it be possible for you to test monitor spanning? Having a definite answer whether or not it works in linux would be helpful.
Actually, OS X has great support for monitor spanning. In fact, for all the bad things about previous Mac OS versions, one thing that they always HAVE had is good multi-monitor support. It's just that apple seems to have disabled that feature JUST for the ibook.
I don't actually have OS 9 installed. I'm not interested in using OS 9 at all, I bought this machine purely to use OS X. So I haven't tried his instructions.
As for drivers, ATI doesn't appear to distribute drivers for their mobility chips. They only distribute drivers for boards that they sell retail.
I'm the one that posted this question, btw.
These are the two things that make me hopeful:
1) Someone claims to have it working in OS 9, and they seemed to have just copied new drivers over (see link in the article).
2) I've heard a couple second-hand confirmations that monitor spanning works fine in linux. I haven't actually seen this working, so I can't confirm. If it comes down to it, I'll probably install linux myself to test it.
So based on those two things, I THINK it's purely a software thing (probably gimpy Mac OS drivers). I'm wondering if it's actually at the driver level, though, or if maybe it's even higher up? Like with the control panels? If so, then it might be even easier to hack.
Bryan