Hi,
After several years exclusively on OS X my new job requires me to return
to Linux, on a Thinkpad T43p equipped with, I believe, an ATI Mobility
FireGL V3200. I've always used a dual-monitor setup on my Mac, and I
found it reasonably easy to get this working on my Thinkpad. However,
two features provided by the Mac have so far eluded me:
1. Differing resolutions on the two displays to use them to their full
potential (this implies a non-rectangular desktop). I'm able to create a
"dual-head" setup which I believe could have differing resolutions, but
the two screens form separate work areas with their own toolbars and
"Start" menus (for want of a better term), and windows cannot be dragged
between the two. This isn't what I need. I can also create a single "big
desktop", but it has to be rectangular and hence either one of the
displays is running at less than its native resolution or there are
"dead" areas of desktop into which things can be moved (and lost) but
cannot be seen.
2. Dynamic resizing of the desktop when I attach and detach the display.
On the Mac, when I unplug the external monitor all windows are coalesced
onto the LCD, which also becomes the primary monitor (with menu bar)
when it wasn't before. If I attach the monitor the available area
immediately expands to fill it, and any windows that were created there
return to it. All this happens irrespective of boots and sleeps.
Obviously it's nice having this happen automatically, but I wouldn't
mind entering a command to do it. What I don't want to have to do is
restart X and all the applications using it.
I'm using the proprietary ATI driver. The limited documentation
available doesn't appear to mention either of these issues. What I want
to know - and I'm guessing it's as much an X issue as an ATI one - is
whether it's possible to do what I want, or whether the design of X
itself prevents it. *How* to do it would also be nice, if it is possible :-)
Thanks,
Pete
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