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Date:      Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:25:03 -0800
From:      "Ronald F. Guilmette" <rfg@tristatelogic.com>
To:        freebsd-x11@freebsd.org
Subject:   Default configuration for xorg-drivers (WTF?)
Message-ID:  <82913.1262078703@tristatelogic.com>

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I confess.  I haven't been keeing my ports at all up-to-date.  (And this has
already caused me grief in at least one instance.)  Today I have been trying
to rectify that, but I ran into a bit of a problem when I did:

  portupgrade -rR xorg-drivers

A couple of hours later I'm staring at these errors:

--->  Skipping 'x11-drivers/xorg-drivers' (xorg-drivers-7.3_3) because a requisite package 'xf86-video-cyrix-1.1.0_2' (x11-drivers/xf86-video-cyrix) failed (specify -k to force)
** Listing the failed packages (-:ignored / *:skipped / !:failed)
        - x11-drivers/xf86-video-nsc (marked as IGNORE)
        - x11-drivers/xf86-video-imstt (marked as IGNORE)
        - x11-drivers/xf86-video-cyrix (marked as IGNORE)
        - x11-drivers/xf86-video-via (marked as IGNORE)
        * x11-drivers/xorg-drivers (xorg-drivers-7.3_3)

So OK.  I get it.  The xorg-drivers port wants all of these other chipset-
specific drivers, some of which ain't in a buildable state right at the
moment.  Fine OK.  I understand.  But ummm.... if those drivers ain't
buildable right now, does it really make a lot of sense to leave them 
*selected* as part of the *default* configuration for xorg-drivers ??

Call me dense, but hope somebody can explain to me how this makes sense.

So anyway, after googling around for good twenty minutes (cuz when it comes
to either ports or X11, I don't know my own ass from my elbow) I learned
that I had to manually cd into /usr/ports/x11-drivers/xorg-drivers and then
"make config" and select the driver(s) I actualy needed, and *de-select*
all of the (broken) ones listed above as "IGNORE".  Fine.  No problem.
Even _I_ can do that.  But ummm... wait just a second... oh s**t!  My
motherboad uses the VIA M8M890 northbridge, so I _do_ need that bleedin'
VIA driver.

So I google around another ten minutes or so and (luckily) I then come
across this:

  http://groups.google.com/group/lucky.freebsd.ports/msg/b40b3298710a3086

OK. So I get it.  Use "openchrome" instead of "via".  No sweat.

But ummm...... Why is it that in the current up-to-date files relating to
the xorg-drivers port, the openchrome driver is, by default, *de-selected*?

Should I be worried?

Is there something broken about the current openchrome driver?

Don't an awful lot of people (like me) need SOME sort of a driver for
VIA-based graphics?  If so, then why the bleep doesn't the default
config for xorg-drivers provide any such?

Since I was already trusting enough (stupid enough?) to proceed with my
port upgrade to xorg-drivers-7.4_2 (WITH openchrome & WITHOUT the old
VIA driver), upon my next reboot, and I going to be staring at a blank
screen?

I sure hope not.



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