X Is Good, But Not Perfect

I do not think that there is any real question that Xorg for popular Linux distros has come a long way. Seriously, it is genuinely amazing. But to point out that things are trucking along in such a way that one does not really need to worry about Xorg.conf is frankly, premature. To date, with popular distros using the latest in what Xorg has to offer, unfortunately those who are using cheap VIA video chipsets are in for one wild ride when trying to install onto their notebook computers as Xorg’s use of the current OpenChrome driver blows.

Some have said all one needs to do is edit the xorg.conf. You know, that thing the article linked above has said is largely unneeded. Yet even assuming you can get a distro such as Ubuntu installed from the alternate CD, I have found that even editing the Xorg.conf yields squat for a working X setup. OpenChrome fails every time while reconfiguring also fails each and every time.

Now I want to go on record in stating that I think that the X guys are awesome. And the tremendous work that has been put into X is something that I do appreciate. That being said, I do wish that the ongoing regression with select VIA video chipsets was dealt with as clearly, the issue with a failed OpenChrome driver does not appear to be on anyone’s list for being taken care of. Normally this would not be a big deal, except for the sheer volume of low-end notebooks using this kind of video chipset. Just saying.