Re: IDL i/o on G4

[dirk(at)uwast.astro.wisc.edu (Dirk Fabian)]

In article <3AB152F6.48743F25@astro.cornell.edu>,
JD Smith  <jdsmith@astro.cornell.edu> wrote:
>"Dmitri A. Sergatskov" wrote:
>
>> 
>> >I should think a G4 titanium with OSX would be just about the fastest
>> >laptop for running IDL available, but only if RSI is on the ball and has
>> >a version ready when it hits prime time (sometime this summer, though
>> >the release is next week).
>> >

[snip]

>
>I have used almost exclusively Linux IDL.  I find it very stable.  The
>problem you refer to has to do with hardware and the free X display
>servers, not IDL, and has been (partially) alleviated with XFree86
>v4.0.  It's the inability to simultaneously *overlay* an 8-bit
>pseudo-color visual on a native 24-bit Truecolor session.  Usually you
>want to do this to accomodate a program written in a color-depth
>specific way (yes David, it is a crime).  Overlay functionality has been
>typical of most unix workstation video hardware for a long time, but has
>only recently been catching on among standard PC components.  The Matrox
>cards are a good example.

Hey JD --

 I haven't been keeping up with the characteristics of the new Xfree
distributions.  Is it possible to have multiple visual classes on the
same screen, or do I still need to start another session in 8bit mode?  
Xfree86 development seems to have nearly ground to halt over the past 2
years, and it was my understanding that version 4 didn't end up having
overlay capabilities despite advertisement to the contrary.  What's the 
scoop?

- Dirk