Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

[Bongo5HH]

see title

[caryb]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

Thats a pretty random post


Cary

[Rog131]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?


Topic: feature comparison - are there updates in ubuntu not yet in kubuntu
http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3087038.0

=>
BulletProofX
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BulletProofX

Summary

This specification describes a new failsafe mode that will be used if X fails to start up. It will be in a reduced (VESA 800x600/256 or VGA 640x480/16) graphics environment running a single application (displayconfig-gtk) for configuring the graphics devices.

The goal of this specification is to eliminate the need for users to need to run apt-get reconfigure on the commandline. That approach is confusing and too technical for many users, so moving away from that will solve a key pain point for users.



KDM Failsafe Server

KDM currently does not support a failsafe server as GDM does, so support for this capability on KDM-based distros will be deferred until this has been implemented. Assuming a design similar to GDM is adopted, the above design can be used here as well.

Live CD

The above failsafe mode won't be used on the Live CD for Gutsy. If there is an Xorg startup failure when running the live-cd, then it should directly go to vesa mode without requiring any configuration step.

[Bongo5HH]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

Thanks

Kev

[disturbedite]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

hmmm....maybe with kde 4.1 or 4.2??...

[firephoto]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

This really seems outside of the realm of a desktop environment. If X is failing, it knows about it and can fall back to a known basic working config just like the livecd has and then you fix it normally in the normal place in your settings. Granted this doesn't have a catchy name like "bullet proof X" and some ooh ahh newly coded unitasker app either.

There's also the fact that a half a dozen xorg.conf variations probably cover most all setups in an optimized way. Once proper display detection is fixed in xorg and a sane non hardware damaging set of default limits is used there's not much secret sauce needed for your xorg.conf.

[thedevilsjester]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

This really seems outside of the realm of a desktop environment.

You are right, it has nothing to do with the DE, its the login manager that deals with this.

If X is failing, it knows about it

Thats the point, with KDM, it doesnt know about it. Thats why Kubuntu wont get this feature until KDM is patched to have this functionality.

and can fall back to a known basic working config

If its a fresh install there is no such thing as a known working config, which is the most common usage of this feature.

I have never had a monitor properly detected by any distribution. Many of them get 'working' settings, but many still do not, and fail to load entirely. Instead of iterating through a list, trying every one (possibly damaging the monitor in the process), if a simple GUI tool was launched when the first setting failed, that allowed me to choose the settings, that would solve many headaches.

The Live CD will fall back to a few different settings without the tool but there is no guarantee that those settings will work either. Thus the BulletProofX tool. And I say its about damn time. The number one complaint I hear from converts about installing Linux, is X not starting because of a poorly detected monitor. They dont know thats the reason, they just get dumped to a console and get confused. This tool will be a a massive help.

[dibl]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

if a simple GUI tool was launched when the first setting failed, that allowed me to choose the settings, that would solve many headaches.

The front end of the latest GParted Live CD has just this kind of tool, which runs in 640 x 480 character mode, I believe. The first thing you see is a list of 12 or 15 display types to choose from, including continuing ahead in the default character mode. If you happen to guess wrong, you just press "reset" and try it again. No installers like my Nvidia card much, so on Gparted I just pick "VESA" and it goes ahead that way, and works fine.

[thedevilsjester]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

Isnt that a tool that launches no matter what though? Does it actually attempt to use a detected setting? (The GParted LiveCD one)

BulletProofX will attempt the current X setting first, then launch the tool if that fails. I see this as a must have tool that should have been written many many years ago.

[dibl]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

Isnt that a tool that launches no matter what though? Does it actually attempt to use a detected setting?

No, it's quite brainless, but to my way of thinking, it's "smarter" than a dead black screen with a little blinky "_" in the upper left corner! :P

Basically, it's just a list of open source display drivers, including VESA, that might look better on your system than plain VGA. So, if you happen to know that the Intel i810 driver works reasonably, then you pick that one, and VOILA you move on with decent graphics. And, if you're wrong, it hasn't even booted yet so you just push "reset" and try again. I would call it "dumb, but effective".

Another approach is the one that Elive takes, and bear in mind that I've only tested Elive on my own system, so I don't know how well it works on other hardware. Elive detects that I have an Nvidia card, and then it chooses an Nvidia driver from 2 or 3 years ago, version 8xxx. Of course, it "works" -- it's better than a blank screen. You wouldn't keep it for very long, if you happen to have a high-performance graphics card, but at least you've got a GUI for doing your initial installation and configuration.

[integr8e]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

I just googled Elive after reading your post, how does it compare to Kubuntu?

Edit: In case you're wondering, I'm not considering switching, just curious.

[thedevilsjester]

Re: Bulletproof X in Kubuntu?

Another approach is the one that Elive takes, and bear in mind that I've only tested Elive on my own system, so I don't know how well it works on other hardware. Elive detects that I have an Nvidia card, and then it chooses an Nvidia driver from 2 or 3 years ago, version 8xxx. Of course, it "works" -- it's better than a blank screen. You wouldn't keep it for very long, if you happen to have a high-performance graphics card, but at least you've got a GUI for doing your initial installation and configuration.

Those older nVidia drivers are actually, in many circles considered better then current ones. More stable, less bugs.

Sabayon does that as well, but with the most recent nVidia drivers, because even the Live CD has the option of running Compiz out of the box.

Kubuntu will never do that because of the Ubuntu stand on including proprietary drivers by default.