X.org server 1.5: An ABI Too Far?

[Kevin Kofler]

Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R <caf <at> omen.com> writes:
> Should Rawhide switch back to a supported version of X.org,
> or at least make it an option?

No.

X.Org X11 1.5.0 is an important feature of Fedora 9. See:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/XserverOnePointFive
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/OneSecondX

The upstream release schedule is such that the final or almost final 1.5.0 will 
be in Fedora 9:
http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xorg/2008-February/033195.html
Adam Jackson (ajax), the Fedora X11 maintainer, is also responsible for the 
upstream release, so you can expect him to know what he's doing.

> Much of what makes a desktop contemporary depends on features in the Nvidia
> driver not presented in the nv driver.

Then you should have bought a graphics card with Free drivers.

If your system is a desktop system (not a laptop), it's fairly easy to replace 
the graphics card with a cheap supported Radeon (up to X850 is supported by the 
r300_dri driver, and that includes the X1050 which is just a renamed 
X300/X550).

> I Googled around and didn't find any explanation of what
> fantastic wonders await us with the new ABI.

See the above feature pages.

> If that is true,  perhaps Fedora should stick with a working
> version of X until the support for the New X is there.

It's there in the Free drivers which Fedora supports and includes.

        Kevin Kofler