[Sussex] Mageia 2 [Was: August Moot attendance]

[Desmond Armstrong]

On 03/09/12 00:21, Fay Zee wrote:
> Hi Desmond,
>
> On 2 September 2012 17:28, Desmond Armstrong 
> <desmond.armstrong at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I am actually quite impressed with Gnome 3. It is quite easy to find 
> your
> > way around.
> >
> > From Mageia 2 perspective which is Gnome 3 version 3.4 I am very 
> happy with
> > it and I would encourage you to give it a whirl.
>
> The desktop on Mageia 2, released May 2012, which I installed from 
> your disk, feels to me quite different from the one I looked at 
> Thursday night, which was Ubuntu 11.10 LXF Remix with Gnome 3.
>
> Although I really love Debian Squeeze (and before that, Lenny, and 
> before that, Sarge) I do like the Mageia 2 desktop for the fact that I 
> can have the more recent version of Inkscape and Blender and so on.
>
> The one drawback at the moment is that it isn't filling up the whole 
> of my laptop's wide screen, plus the resolution setting is currently 
> too low. The Graphics Server screen in the Control Center's Hardware 
> section doesn't offer much help with this. The best res is 832x624. 
> This contrasts with the automatic recognition in the Ubuntu 11.10 LXF 
> Remix referred to above. That OS gives me 1280 x 800 (16:10). 
> Unfortunately it doesn't show the refresh rates it is using. Running 
> lshw -C doesn't show them either. Running xrandr gives me 60.0*+ for 
> 1280 x 800, whatever *+ denotes. But I haven't found xorg.conf and am 
> unsure how to progress. Hopefully I can get help with this on Saturday.
>
> The laptop is a Toshiba Tecra R10-112
> Display - 14" LED backlight 1280 x 800 / WXGA
> Graphics - Intel GMA 4500MHD
> Specs: http://uk.insight.com/en-gb/productinfo/laptops/TOYA0670S

I have done several Mageia 2 installations in the last few weeks.
The usual reason for using Mageia rather than Mandriva has been the 
newer graphics chips and the wide screens.

Setting up the Graphical Server in the Control Center has proved to be 
quite easy although some of these ATI displays ahve had to be set using 
Xorg. One would not behave using the ati in Xorg and required vesa. 
Another would not work correctly with vesa but was happy with ati - very 
curious.

And, of course if it does not behave with the detected manufacturer, 
Intel for example, then one simply goes down the list to Xorg and uses 
the options there.

There are always surprises with some of the new chips and a very new 
Sony which I did last week, although Intel, required the Xorg to make it 
work correctly.

I believe that the Intel GMA 4500MHD will be one of the Imagination 
Technologies designs for Intel. As such they are not Penquin friendly 
but I have always made them work using Xorg.