On Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 11:10 AM, Harry Putnam <rea...@newsguy.com> wrote: > Albert Hopkins <mar...@letterboxes.org> writes: > >> On Sunday, July 3 at 22:07 (-0500), Harry Putnam said: >>> this is a no X machine... it appears at the cited URL they expect you >>> to be running xorg. >> >> KMS doesn't require X, but Xorg can use it. Basically Xorg can let the >> kernel handle graphics mode setting and gets out of the way. >> >> But KMS doesn't require X. The link I provided shows how to enable KMS. >> it just happens to be in part of the Xorg docs. >> > > Are you saying it does not require `xorg-x11'. > > Step 2) says in large type: > `2. Installing Xorg' > > Then a big note in a green box later on says: > > ,---- > | Note: You could install the xorg-x11 metapackage instead of the more > | lightweight xorg-server. Functionally, xorg-x11 and xorg-server are > | the same. However, xorg-x11 brings in many more packages that you > | probably don't need, such as a huge assortment of fonts in many > | different languages. They're not necessary for a working desktop. > `---- > > So I'm a little confused. > > ------- --------- ---=--- --------- -------- > > The way I've been doing this only required `vesa' or `uvesa' and some > special kernel line stuff. None of the X related stuff is necessary. > > From covici's post... I think I may need to say uvesa where I've been > saying vesa. > > I'm going to try that some time today. Its already enabled in my kernel >
I'm a little confused by his post also, but I've never run a machine without Xorg so maybe it's a technical point. With a framebuffer I believe you can get a boot screen like the Install CD - a bunch of little Tux's across the top - so you're doing graphics at that point but you're not running X? I was curious about this topic awhile back wondering if you could run a Gentoo VM with only a framebuffer and get any graphics at all, or is it just that the framebuffer is used to give you more control over the console font/height/width selection. (I've never run a framebuffer, if that's not obvious!) ;-) - Mark