[Openchrome-users] a couple of generic questions about the status of the openchrome driver

[hzh]

Hello OpenChrome team


I have been using drivers for VIA chips since the first public  
incarnations of Luc's xf86-video-via. I had big hopes that these  
little low power HTPC suitable boxes would be fine with Linux. Sadly,  
VIA didn't really deliver.
Been with unichrome later and for years now with openchrome. I still  
have some of that Via HW around and I am still actually using it (not  
as my main boxes, though).

I had several problems connecting some displays (monitors) to VIA  
based boards. BIOS and Kernel would be fine but as soon as  
X/openchrome kicked in I lost connection to the monitor (the monitort  
would work with ATI/AMD or Nv cards/APUs, though). Some other monitors  
would work. I had that problem an a CLE266 and a CN700 (which sums up  
my VIA HW types). Is that a known issue? (all done via VGA D-Sub  
interface)
(Iirc using vesa driver might have worked, but I'd have to re-evaluate this.)

I am dearly missing (x)randr support since I made my first experiences  
with a pivot monitor last year: it's so awesome for long text or  
console work. (the via driver / X crashes or freezes when I tried to  
rotate)

Also dual screen was planned long ago, right? By now most of my CLE266  
laptops broke (ECS G 320) so it's not that pressing for me anymore  
(would work w. VESA + maybe BIOS routines; my current laptop now uses  
an AMD E-350 which works for presentations) - but maybe still for  
others. Iirc. late incarnations of the OLPC were supposed to have VIA  
CPU/GPU combinations (though I don't know if thos ever had an external  
gfx interface).

Oh well, and KMS. I read that this was planned some time ago.  
Occasionally one can read on phoronix or other Linux / FOSS related  
media that this is still alive.
Is there any current status?

And is there any power management support for the HW (CLE266 and  
CN700)? Does the HW feature power management options at all?

I know the team shrunk considerably and the workload is spread on few  
people. I understand that reverse engineering things is a tedious  
task. But is there hope the issues will be dealt with? Is there some  
kind of road map? Can you be helped somehow (as far as that is  
possible being an unemployed student who can't contribute code, wrong  
profession, sorry)?

Cheers
someone from userland ;)