[ltp] Dual-head non-scrolling viewport

[John Locke]

Hi,

Finally got my coffee-drowned laptop back from the service depot a
couple days ago, and after reading through the very helpful thread
"thinkpad with external monitor howto" from a couple of weeks ago,
finally started to tackle getting dual-head working on this machine,
something I had gotten quickly accustomed to on my backup laptop.

So now, I have a few things I'm trying to figure out.

Basic configuration: T41, merged FB, 1400x1050 on the laptop, 1024x768
on an external flatscreen panel monitor connected to the VGA port. I'm
using Xorg 6.8.1 and the Radeon driver on a brand-spanking new Mandrake
10.1 install.

I got the dual head to work by adding these lines to the device section:

    Option "MetaModes" "1400x1050-1024x768 1024x768-1024x768 1400x1050
1024x768"
    Option "CRT2Position" "LeftOf"
    #Option "MergedFB" "On"
    Option "MonitorLayout" "LVDS, CRT"

... and put this Modes line in a Display subsection:

        Modes "1400x1050-1024x768" "1024x768-1024x768" "1400x1050"
"1024x768"

I tried adding some custom Modelines using a modeline generator somebody
mentioned in the earlier thread, but they didn't work. When I went back
to just the default modelines in the Mandrake xorg.conf file, it worked
mostly fine--none of the modelines seem to reflect my actual
configuration.


So here are my issues:

1. The external LCD has a couple of slightly fuzzy bands. I've seen this
before when I've set the monitor on another computer to Mandrake's
settings for a generic monitor, and they went away when I selected a
generic flat panel monitor. It's a Samsung 15" Syncmaster 570S. I have
no idea what the difference is between the "Generic" monitor and "Flat
Panel"--is this a different Modeline added to the file? Mandrake's
wizards don't help configure a second monitor...

2. KDE loads the task bar on the external monitor, not the laptop
screen. Is there a way I can force the task bar to the laptop instead? 


3. Here's the tricky one. I'm finding it extremely annoying to have the
viewport on the external monitor scroll. I've found I can use the krandr
applet to change both screens to have the same height, at 1024x768. Is
it possible to set up my system so that I can have two screens at
different resolutions, without one of them scrolling? I'm thinking this
isn't possible with MergedFB--can I do it with two separate screens,
using Xinerama? If I don't use Xinerama, can I set it up so that I can
still move the mouse between screens and get the keyboard to work on
both screens? If somebody could point me to a good how-to on how to set
this up, that would be great!

Thanks,

-- 
John Locke
"Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems"
published by Charles River Media, June 2004
http://www.freelock.com