Re: Ruby on laptops or video over USB

[Helge H. <hel...@hi...>]

yitzhak bar geva wrote:

>Implementing Ruby requires PCI/AGP slots.
>Think what could be done on devices which have no AGP
>or PCI slots like laptops.
>  
>
Some laptops have a vga plug that doesn't have to show
the same image as the built-in display.  Common use of this is
for the laptop user to have a dual-screen setup like xinerama,
where they can move the mouse from one screen to the
other and have more space for their windows.

That means the graphichs card is a multihead device,
which ruby might support.  For any multihead singlecard
setup of these conditions is necessary to run ruby:

1. It is possible to run two different xservers, using
the two screens directly.  That is rarely possible for a
single card, more often for dual card setups.

2. The linux kernel can provide independent framebuffers
for the two screens.  You can then at least run unaccelerated
X on the framebuffers, or perhaps accelerated X on one and
unaccelerated on the other.  Unaccelerated X isn't bad on
a modern machine, except that you won't get useable 3D that way.

You also need to be able to plug in two keyboards and two
mice, but that is rarely a problem.  Keyboards plugs into
the keyboard plug, the ps2-mouse plug and usb. Ditto for mice,
and they also work with serial ports.

>Any idea how we could implement Ruby by directing the
>video stream directly to USB and from there converting
>to VGA with an external adapter. Here's an example:
>http://www.usbgear.com/USBG-SVGA2.html
>  
>
Wow - an USB video card!  It should work fine with ruby
if you can get a X driver for it.  Or a linux kernel
framebuffer driver, on which you may run framebuffer X.
I expect this thing to be somewhat slow either way. :-/

Helge Hafting