Subject: Re: 24bit sun framebuffers (Was: redirecting console messages)
To: None <port-sparc@netbsd.org>
From: Greg Earle <earle@isolar.DynDNS.ORG>
List: port-sparc
Date: 08/10/2000 15:12:24
> I would be willing to loan out my SPARC 20 (85 MHz SuperSPARC II CPU, 
> 256MB RAM, 9GB disk, CD-ROM, floppy, hme0, nell0) with its 8MB VSIMM 
> (1280x1024x24bpp!) and a Sun 20" (GDM-20E10) monitor to a developer 
> in the SF Bay Area who can make NetBSD and the cgfourteen (SX) work 
> at 24bpp...

Want to know the best way to get 24-bit color on a NetBSD/SPARC system?

Buy a PC or a Macintosh.

I have a dual-headed G4/450 Mac at work.  Both video cards (built-in Rage 128
in the AGP slot, and a PCI Rage Fury card) have at least 16 Mb of video RAM on
them, and I can run both monitors at 1600x1200@24bpp under MacOS 9.0.

It finally dawned on me that I could run eXodus (X Windows software for the
Mac) and use XDMCP to get an XDM session with a "rooted" window that was
1280x1024@24bpp instead of the 1152x900@8bpp I was running on the GDM-20E20
monitor on the SPARCstation 20.  So now I have a 24-bit color NetBSD/SPARC box.

Think "outside the box" - use the SPARC as a server and put the "display"
onto something that's more suited for the purpose, given that display cards
for the PC and Macintosh have since far outstripped low-end UNIX workstation
offerings.

At home I disconnected the GDM-20E20 from my SPARCstation 20 and connected it
to my Mac.

Think Different.   :-)

	- Greg