Binary package hint: xorg
I've been trying Maverick daily build from Aug 26, 2010, in both the Ubuntu and Kubuntu variants. My laptop (a Thinkpad T60) has a 1400x1050 screen (4:3), and I've also been plugging in an external Monitor (Dell S2409W) with 1920x1080 resolution (16:9). Here is a reasonably comprehensive report on the display switching situation, which overall is showing signs of considerable improvement but needs a bit more love (see particularly points #5 and #6 below):
1. Booting with external monitor connected: works in both (this fixes bug #570011 for me; I verified that the "drm" kernel module was loaded and no errors appeared in the dmesg)
2. Booting with just the laptop, and then plugging in the monitor and switching resolution: works in Kubuntu, not tested in Ubuntu, but I presume this works fine.
3. Setting resolution after plugging in external monitor: works in both, although only Kubuntu readily supports my preferred configuration (cloning the display but using the native resolution on both screens; I use this because at work I connect my laptop via a docking station on a shelf above my desk). In Ubuntu, if I check "same image in all monitors" then I have to use the same resolution in all monitors, which is the lower 1024x768 or 1280xsomething (don't remember now). Kubuntu lets me use 1920x1080 on the external monitor while using 1400x1050 on the laptop, and making one a clone (incomplete, of course) of the other.
4. Auto-detection that a new monitor has been plugged in, and asking the user if he/she wants to configure the display: works in Kubuntu, does not work in Ubuntu (is it supposed to?)
5. Auto-detection that a monitor has been disconnected, and asking the user if he/she wants to configure the display: does not work in either. In Kubuntu there is the extra amusement that manually configuring suddenly causes the automatic system to realize something has happened. In other words, if I manually navigate to the systemsettings->Display and Monitor, once I click the Display icon it (1) gives me the display configuration window, and (2) also pops up the dialog that should have popped up when I disconnected the monitor. If I say I want to configure it, then I get a second window (essentially copies of each other) for doing the configuration; if I click Ignore, then just one opens. (This bug is also present in Lucid.)
6. Changing desktop size after a monitor disconnect: In Ubuntu, before I run the configuration dialog, the desktop is the same as before I disconnected the monitor (meaning that there is a whole virtual desktop to which my mouse can move, windows are located, etc, but which I cannot see). However, once I run the dialog it resizes the display AND the desktop, providing me with the experience I expect when running with the laptop alone. In Kubuntu, the situation is different: if I start out running in the mode where each display is running at its maximum resolution, the desktop is naturally the larger of the two. If I then disconnect the monitor, and go to the configuration dialog, then here is the problem: it knows the display is already 1400x1050, and so the Apply button is grayed out. However, the desktop size is 1920x1080, and there is no user-visible way to fix that. Configuring a lower-resolution display does _not_ change the desktop size, there are still windows over the edge and my mouse can navigate off-screen. (What I usually do is run "xrandr --auto" from the command line.)
7. I have not yet had a chance to test whether bug #476357, triggered when I switch back and forth between two different external monitors at work and home, is finally fixed (it is still broken in Lucid). This bug definitely counts as the most serious issue of all, because it requires an X restart, which is sufficiently annoying that it discourages me from switching between monitors. I will test when I get a chance.
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.10
Package: xorg 1:7.5+6ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.35-19.25-generic 2.6.35.3
Uname: Linux 2.6.35-19-generic i686
Architecture: i386
DRM.card0.LVDS.1:
status: connected
enabled: enabled
dpms: On
modes: 1400x1050 1400x1050 1280x1024 1280x1024 1280x960 1280x854 1280x800 1280x720 1152x768 1024x768 1024x768 800x600 800x600 848x480 720x480 640x480 640x480
edid-base64: AP///////wAwriJAAAAAAAAPAQOAHBV46q9AlVZKjyUgUFQhCACBgAEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBMCp4IFEaEEAwcBMAHdYQAAAZJSN4IFEaEEAwcBMAHdYQAAAZAAAADwCQQzKQQygPAQAJ5QAAAAAA/gBIVDE0UDEyLTEwMAogAD8=
DRM.card0.VGA.1:
status: disconnected
enabled: disabled
dpms: Off
modes:
edid-base64:
Date: Fri Aug 27 09:25:48 2010
GdmLog: Error: command ['kdesudo', '--', 'cat', '/var/log/gdm/:0.log'] failed with exit code 1: cat: /var/log/gdm/:0.log: No such file or directory
GdmLog1: Error: command ['kdesudo', '--', 'cat', '/var/log/gdm/:0.log.1'] failed with exit code 1: cat: /var/log/gdm/:0.log.1: No such file or directory
GdmLog2: Error: command ['kdesudo', '--', 'cat', '/var/log/gdm/:0.log.2'] failed with exit code 1: cat: /var/log/gdm/:0.log.2: No such file or directory
LiveMediaBuild: Kubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" - Alpha i386 (20100826)
MachineType: LENOVO 2623D7U
PccardctlIdent:
Socket 0:
no product info available
PccardctlStatus:
Socket 0:
no card
ProcCmdLine: file=/cdrom/preseed/khostname.seed boot=casper maybe-ubiquity initrd=/casper/initrd.lz quiet splash --
ProcEnviron:
LANGUAGE=
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: xorg
dmi.bios.date: 04/18/2006
dmi.bios.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.bios.version: 79ET60WW (1.05a)
dmi.board.name: 2623D7U
dmi.board.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.board.version: Not Available
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: No Asset Information
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: LENOVO
dmi.chassis.version: Not Available
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnLENOVO:bvr79ET60WW(1.05a):bd04/18/2006:svnLENOVO:pn2623D7U:pvrThinkPadT60:rvnLENOVO:rn2623D7U:rvrNotAvailable:cvnLENOVO:ct10:cvrNotAvailable:
dmi.product.name: 2623D7U
dmi.product.version: ThinkPad T60
dmi.sys.vendor: LENOVO
glxinfo: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
peripherals: Error: [Errno 2] No such file or directory
system:
distro: Ubuntu
codename: maverick
architecture: i686
kernel: 2.6.35-19-generic
One more thing I forgot to add:
8. Desktop effects work in ubuntu, but not in kubuntu. This is a regression compared with alpha2, if memory serves.