>In a Perfect World, the kernel should take care of the actual low-level
>device-driving, not the X server. Kernel bloat might be avoided by
>having a basic VGA driver in the kernel, and loading an LKM for the
>right video card once you need to get more out of it.

It seems to me that you could compromise by creating a /dev/video that was
only mmap()able in the range needed by your video card (doesn't the
aperature driver do something like this?)  Don't pci video cards provide
some of this information?  If this hypothetical /dev/video could use this
information if it was available, that would be majorly cool.  It would
still be a potential security problem, but not as big of a one as the
current mmap()ing of /dev/mem.

--Ken