OSNews

I don't know which system you are using but there has been graphically configuration programs for X for several years. True, primitive GUI-tools but none-the-less GUI tools.

I'm afraid the nature of GUI-tools will disallow an easy-to-use powerful GUI Config-app for X.org though I hope I'm wrong.

I think he was reffering to that horrid little ncurses thing. I didn't consider ncurses a GUI but I will say, it got the job done very well.

> I don't know which system you are using

Ubuntu, of course, which is what this whole news entry is about. And before ubuntu I used debian, which ubuntu is based on.

Not many people know of xf86setup. I used it quite a few times back in my slackware 3.1 days. Now a lot of the linux distros made it pretty obsolete but I agree with you, there has been a gui for X setup for many years.

I don't know which system you are using but there has been graphically configuration programs for X for several years. True, primitive GUI-tools but none-the-less GUI tools.

Well SuSe has had Yast for ages, which contains a module to configure X graphically. If they would have just taken that and customized it (Yast is GPL), then they would have had this functionality ages ago. But no, the NIH syndrome is strong and everything must be written from scratch. Hooray.

FYI Ubuntu also didn't write the tool they're using, so it's funny to hear you accuse them of NIH syndrome.

Actually they considered just this. But because Xorg was to get hotplug support for monitors they didn't want to "waste" the resources (to port it).

And Kubuntu had an X config tool for ages, so it's just that the Ubuntu guys wanted something GTK, I guess.

Yes, and sax and sax2 did and do their job even if your X environment has been completely "destroyed", e.g. as the horrible result of a X security update. :-)

Mandrake/Mandriva and Suse have had graphical configuration systems for just about everything for over 10 years.

Well, 7-8 years for MDV, to be strictly accurate (I think that's when MCC came in).

But yeah, the general impression this changelog gave me was 'hey, Ubuntu, welcome to 1998'...:)

Xorg 7.3 is being released very soon. It's going to include a new version of RandR, which will allow dynamic hotplugging similar to that available in OS X and Windows, and will be able to function in the way you describe. It will also have input hotplugging and dbus configuration apparently. Looks to be a good release.

Ubuntu is already using x server 1.3 and the randr 1.2 protocol in their current betas, as is Mandriva (and we had them available as experimental packages for 2007 Spring). I'm not sure about the other distros, but I would be surprised if they're including them in their next releases too.

Unfortunately, the core of Xorg 7.3, Xserver 1.4, will not be released until after the Gutsy feature freeze. Therefore, the Ubuntu devs have decided to stick with Xserver 1.3 for Gutsy. XRandR 1.2 is in.

On the bright side, it's likely that Gutsy+1, the next LTS release, will feature Xorg 7.4. Next spring looks like a great time for the Linux desktop. KDE4, Compiz, Xorg, FOSS drivers for Intel and possibly NVIDIA graphics, KVM, Devicescape, and more will be in good shape by then. No Year of Desktop Linux, but progress will be made.

I like what I see in Gutsy, though. XRandR 1.2 and the configuration tool is the obvious headliner, but the printer support looks great, and AppArmor is a nice plus. A virtual machine manager, please? Red Hat's looks nice.

X had one already, it's called xvidtune. Can't tell you how many times that little known application made my life easier.

xvidtune was only to tune modelines.

Talking of graphical configuration tools..
anyone remember XF86Config from redhat 5.2 - 6.0 days? - I recall it was okay for its time. it was a tk UI I recall but have access to a lot of options the simple gnome tools dont.

It got me started anyhow and was a nice enough way to configure X graphically.