[SPARCbook] 3GX external VGA plug

[Miles Nordin]

On Sat, 22 Apr 2000, Matthew Haas wrote:
> I'm running NetBSD 1.4.2 (with a -current kernel) on the SPARCbook.

On Sat, 22 Apr 2000, Tyson J. Lambert wrote:
> it is possible to hook up just a type5 mouse to the keyboard port
> fbconfig [-l|-m <int>|-D <...>]

This is good to know.

However, NetBSD does not have fbconfig.  NetBSD does support the P9100
video chip in rasterconsole and X11 (it works; it is not merely _claimed_
while remaining a ``hypothetical'' feature of XFree86 4.0, after a little
bit of work, which is unavailable to the public anyway).  Unfortunately,
this support does not extend to external monitors or color depths other
than 8bpp.

I also heard rumors NetBSD supports only external keyboards, not external
mice, but I have not tried this myself.  I grant that it seems odd, but
that's what I heard.

NetBSD has a tool called tadpolectl in -current that can tweak and query
many of the microcontroller's preferences--battery capacity, screen
brightness, u.s.w., thus replacing many parts of NCE in a very simple way.  
Also, Tadpole support continues to improve in occasional spirts, so you
might keep an eye on the port-sparc news page if you are committed to
running NetBSD and can't do something you want to.

You might find that NetBSD's port-sparc mailing list (and its archives at
http://mail-index.netbsd.org) are a better place to scour for details on
NetBSD's Tadpole support.  It is one of the port's more superficial and
thus more vociferously discussed features, so there is a lot about it on
the mailing list.

-- 
Miles Nordin / v:+1 720 841-8308 fax:+1 530 579-8680
555 Bryant Street PMB 182 / Palo Alto, CA 94301-1700 / US

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