electric relaxation

I got my T42 laptop to output DVI 1600×1200 via the port replicator/docking station, by porting a large patchset that I randomly found attached to a bug report in the Xorg bugzilla over to the Ubuntu ATI driver sources. I am utterly amazed that I actually managed to accomplish something productive via the magic of open source (leaving aside for a moment the question of how this deficit of functionality arose in the first place). Perhaps as an act of atonement I’ll take a day off from my incessant Linux bashing. Or at least a half-day.

Anyway, in case through some miracle another lost soul out with the same issue stumbles upon this page, here are the relevant goodies:

• Patch against Ubuntu Dapper sources
• Ubuntu Dapper package (rebuilt with patch)
• Rebuilt radeon_drv.so

YMMV. Note that this driver is not compatible with the current radeon kernel modules in Dapper. So you have to prevent radeon.ko from loading. The easiest way I know is to just move it out of the way. I don’t care since DRM/DRI is broken for the RV350 card (a.k.a. the Mobility 9600) anyway.