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charlieg
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Joined: 30 Jul 2002
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Location: Manchester UK
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 Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 8:18 pm Post subject: XOrg-X11 v6.7 released! |
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This is big, the first official release of the XOrg X11 server to contain updates from the last acceptably licensed XFree (4.4rc2).
Linkage: Announcement - Release Notes - Project Home - Spyderous' ebuilds - ebuild discussion thread
There are some cool updates, including some really neat bloat beaters.
For instance, XFree86 uses it's own versions of font config and freetype, among other libraries. These silly restrictions have been lifted:
| Release Notes wrote: | | Fontconfig will no longer be installed by default since that has often/usually resulted in overwriting more recent versions. The fontconfig version 2.2.2 shipped in X11R6.7.0 needs to be built to allow programs in the tree to build that depend on it, but those programs will run fine using installed versions of fontconfig. |
(ditto for other such libraries)
And there has been a spring cleanout. TinyX (kdrive) was removed as the used version was 15 months out of date and nothing like the current snapshot (available from xserver on fdo) and other stuff that was just dead or unused:
| Release Notes wrote: | | The remains of XIE and PEX extensions were removed completely. Similarly, libxml2's remains were removed, as it is not used at all in the distribution. |
There's lots more goodness in this release. This is the best thing that could have happend to X Windows. No longer is development of the XFree86 project stifled by the XFree86 project as it now lives under a new XOrg community. Progress can be made!
What with this and Keith Packard's X server and all the other X goodness going on at fdo, we're gonna be spoilt.
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Last edited by charlieg on Wed Apr 07, 2004 8:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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charlieg
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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I'll just note that this seems to be achieving many of the goals of the seemingly dead Xouvert project.
It is modularising, breaking out dependencies and avoiding duplication. It's looking very promising indeed. A cruft-free X11 server!
And finally the hard working Cygwin/X guys can get their contributions in quickly rather than constantly jumping through hoops as they had to with the XFree86 project. The more I'm reading about the current rate of progress, the more I believe that the XFree86 project had become poisoned with politics, especially those of the lead developer David Dawes.
Several of the core developers have left the XFree86 team to join the XOrg community. Good stuff!
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shm
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Joined: 09 Dec 2002
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Location: Atlanta, Universe
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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| charlieg wrote: | | It is modularising, breaking out dependencies and avoiding duplication. It's looking very promising indeed. A cruft-free X11 server! |
Note that this version isn't really fully modularized. It's dubbed the "monolithic" release. In early February, the x.org folks decided that it was better to get a product shipped out quickly even if it wasn't ideally as modualrized as they wanted. They have done just that, and filled the rather gaping hole the XFree license change proved to be.
Props to the x.org team.. for bringing vitality back to the X11 world! |
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rfujimoto
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Joined: 22 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder if they plan to continue to support this after fdo get's their xserver up and running. Is the plan to maintain two x11 implementations? I plan to use xserver once it's stable enough, are others? If so, would xorg die out? hmm...
Either way, this is huge. Under new leadership we may actually see some improvements on our X server aside from driver updates and mouse themes.
I love the fact that I can unmerge xfree and merge xorg while still using kde... that's just awesome..  |
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Drooling Iguana
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Joined: 07 Apr 2004
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Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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| When this gets added to Portage, will it automatically be updated when I update my packages, or will I have to unmerge xfree and merge this one? Will my config files port over, or will I have to re-create them? |
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charlieg
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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| rfujimoto wrote: | | I wonder if they plan to continue to support this after fdo get's their xserver up and running. Is the plan to maintain two x11 implementations? I plan to use xserver once it's stable enough, are others? If so, would xorg die out? hmm... |
I hope they'll continue both versions. Xserver is radically different from XFree/XOrg-X11 and it's always good to have alternatives.
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hensan
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Joined: 26 Jun 2003
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Location: Sweden
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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I for one welcome our new Xorg overlords... wait... this isn't slashdot 
From the release notes:
| Quote: | | Additionally, X.Org will be attempting, when possible, to contact copyright holders of material in the distribution when those copyrights do not follow the Debian Free Software guidelines to see if they can be relicensed to adhere to those standards. |
Now THAT is what xfree should have done instead of starting to mess about with that new license.
Last edited by hensan on Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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shm
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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| rfujimoto wrote: | | I wonder if they plan to continue to support this after fdo get's their xserver up and running. Is the plan to maintain two x11 implementations? I plan to use xserver once it's stable enough, are others? If so, would xorg die out? hmm... |
Note that "fdo" doesn't actually do anything other than provide project hosting (and related services) to projects that could be useful for the free desktop. That would be like saying sourceforge.net is developing gaim and sim since it hosts them. You could have any number of competing X servers on freedesktop.org. |
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irf2003
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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please forgive my ignorance, is it in the portage tree (masked, hard masked or whatever)
if so, what is the the package name?
TIA |
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rfujimoto
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Joined: 22 Mar 2004
Posts: 195
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| shm wrote: | | rfujimoto wrote: | | I wonder if they plan to continue to support this after fdo get's their xserver up and running. Is the plan to maintain two x11 implementations? I plan to use xserver once it's stable enough, are others? If so, would xorg die out? hmm... |
Note that "fdo" doesn't actually do anything other than provide project hosting (and related services) to projects that could be useful for the free desktop. That would be like saying sourceforge.net is developing gaim and sim since it hosts them. You could have any number of competing X servers on freedesktop.org. |
Yes you're right. I meant Xserver hosted by fdo. I guess we'll have two implementations then... which I don't like for a number of reasons, but I understand why it would happen and see the benefits.
edit: irf2003, emerge xorg-x11 |
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irf2003
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| Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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rfujimoto,
many thanks for providing the package name
happy gentooing |
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smiley
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 03 Dec 2003
Posts: 127
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 3:46 am Post subject: |
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| charlieg wrote: | | rfujimoto wrote: | | I wonder if they plan to continue to support this after fdo get's their xserver up and running. Is the plan to maintain two x11 implementations? I plan to use xserver once it's stable enough, are others? If so, would xorg die out? hmm... |
I hope they'll continue both versions. Xserver is radically different from XFree/XOrg-X11 and it's always good to have alternatives. |
I think the idea is that when Xorg is completely modularized, then Xserver can be a replacement for the server componant of Xorg. At least that's what I heard.
smiley  |
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greg_g
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Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Posts: 180
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:04 am Post subject: |
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About the compresence of both the "monolithic" tree and the modulirized one, from the Release Notes: | Quote: | | There will be future maintenance releases in the X11R6.7.x series. However, efforts are well underway to split the X distribution into its modular components to allow for easier maintenance and independent updates. We expect a transitional period while both X11R6.7 releases are being fielded and the modular release completed and deployed while both will be available as different consumers of X technology have different constraints on deployment. We have not yet decided how the modular X releases will be numbered. |
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Syzar
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Joined: 28 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:47 am Post subject: |
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I'm now succesfully running X.org 6.7.0. Installation was quite an painless.
Unmerging Xfree and then merging xorg-x11. I didn't even have to remerge my nvidia-drivers.  |
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nevynxxx
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Location: Manchester - UK
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:57 am Post subject: |
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| rfujimoto wrote: | | I plan to use xserver once it's stable enough, are others? |
For what it's worth, I have been using xserver as my only x-server for a few months now. I haven't dabled with the transparency or anything, but xserver+fluxbox seems to be quite a happy couple. I havn't had a crash, lockup, or any such in that time.
Roll on both servers, choice is fun, choice is good.
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ktech
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Is any of you running Ati-Drivers (binary ones) with this release? |
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MooktaKiNG
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Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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I just finished installing xorg.
It does seem a bit more resposnive i must say.
They've also added some checked lines (small squares or something) background, just before the X starts
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dreas
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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I'm wondering about the X dependencies of a bunch of apps I'm using. Will these apps still ask for Xfree to be emerged or will xorg be recognizied as X dependency?
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spb
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Joined: 02 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| dreas wrote: | | I'm wondering about the X dependencies of a bunch of apps I'm using. Will these apps still ask for Xfree to be emerged or will xorg be recognizied as X dependency? |
Any programs needing X should depend on virtual/x11, which is provided by xfree and xorg-x11. You should be ok without xfree. |
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dreas
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| Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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well, thanks, I think I'll give it a go then. 
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