I have recently upgraded my Asus Eee b202 box (with 945GM chipset and GMA 950 graphics core) from Debian stable to Debian testing. Before I was just using this rather underpowered box as a thin client (using the X -query method to access a remote box xdm to help log in to that remote box to actually do my work or play low-end 3D games such as foobillard). However, as a test I tried installing KDE on this box. This new KDE version is much faster than the Debian stable version so that experiment turned out to be a huge success. So on the whole I am completely satisfied with the KDE graphics experience I have directly on this box. However, I have noticed two issues with this box that probably indicate that the software in the Intel graphics driver needs some additional testing/maintenance for GMA950 graphics cores. (1) The first issue (full bug report at http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=688812) is fiddling with desktop effects (specifically turning the "Outline" effect off than on again) brings the GPU to a near halt (it took about a minute to respond to even hovering the mouse over part of the desktop and another minute to respond to clicking on the mouse). I ascribe the slowdown to the GPU because "top" showed the cpu was idle and there was tonnes of free memory available as well. That huge slowdown is "permanent" in the sense that logging off and/or (warm) rebooting does not solve the issue. The only way out of this trap that I found was to mv the .kde directory aside and reconfigure everything from scratch. (2) The second issue (full bug report at http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=688822) is a regression (when compared to Debian stable) in playing remote games with LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT=1 using the X -query method to gain access to a remote box. Interestingly, I can run those remote games just fine if I use the ssh method rather than X -query to gain access to the remote box. The Eee box was first introduced only 4 years ago so it is fairly modern equipment. Also, it might experience a bit of a renaissance now that it appears sophisticated Linux desktop environments like KDE appear to run on it with no speed issues at all. So it would be a shame if the above bugs were not addressed in some way by the Intel developers here. My own feeling is perhaps the best way to deal with such bugs is not to worry too much about the high-level specifics that triggered them, but instead do full-blown tests on equipment with GMA 950 graphics core similar to the tests Intel runs on their latest hardware. In the long run, such tests are the only way to make sure the latest Intel graphics stack works properly on somwhat older equipment like this. I would be happy to run such comprehensive tests, but this is a production box (i.e., I am trying to use this box to help develop my own free software). I don't mind pausing my own development work to run the tests, but if setting up such tests is too time-consuming or would take too much of my time learning about how to build the Intel graphics stack from scratch, I would prefer someone else to run the tests instead. Alan __________________________ Alan W. Irwin Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca). Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state implementation for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); the Time Ephemerides project (timeephem.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting software package (plplot.sf.net); the libLASi project (unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of Linux Links project (loll.sf.net); and the Linux Brochure Project (lbproject.sf.net). __________________________ Linux-powered Science __________________________
