From: James Simmons <jsimmons@edgeglobal.com>
  To  : ggi-develop@eskimo.com
  Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 09:38:44 -0500 (EST)

Re: Multiple users

> > Yes :( The good news is Vojetch is working on something that does use
> > multiple mice. Even regualr mice.
> 
> I can only make suggestions, but he should have a look at using KGI-0.9 as a 
> base and simply enhance the somewhat neglected KII input interface a bit.
> Thanks Brian there is a patch that allows the input interface to be used
> with kgi-0.9. 

I already told him about your work several months ago. In fact he did take
several ideas from it :) I don't know if he has looked at it recently. I
haven't talked to him in several months. I have been very busy with fbdev
and now I'm helping port IRIX graphics infrastructure to linux :->

> No comment. Thanks Brian there is a patch that allows the input interface
> to be used with kgi-0.9. If you manage to get the input drivers by Vojtech
> working with KGI-0.9 for multiple USB keyboards, you are ready to go 
> multihead! Even without KGI-0.9 drivers...   

[snip]
 
> I would be very grateful if his work could be used with KGI without having
> to rewrite it again. 

Drop him a email (vojtech@ucw.cz). He is one of the most open minded
kernel developers I have meet. I'm sure the two of you can merge your work
together to make one kick ass system. You could learn alot from each
other.

> > By the way Vojetch work is based on GGI console. 
> 
> I am not clear what you referring to here... EvStack? ggi-0.0.9? kgi-0.9?

Evstack!

> > He thinks it was really good work. The only real difference is its 
> > less streams orientated. Linus hates AT&T Streams for some reason :(
> 
> Or other three-letter words...

I know. I'm having fun with PI DRI interface vs true direct rendering from
IRIX unix. Yes SGI is helping port this over :) Alot of core developers
are sold on DRI. I'm not. DRI doesn't even handle issues like the DMA to
regular memory transfer problem. With serval card, evenb the g400, you can
send commands to the dma to tell it to transfer the framebuffer image to
memory. Now with this card you can transfer the data to anywhere in system
memory. So you could even the first 16 Megs in your system. This is
really bad. The way it handles locking is horrible.

> > Vojetch is working on the keyboard
> > part and I'm working on fbcon so we can have a true multiheaded system.
> > Note also the newest 2.3.x kernels have real resource management now. Its
> > being worked on for other types of buses. So linux is finally evolving to
> > the KGI level.  
> 
> Good to hear.

On a personal note. I have learned radical changes will never go in. I
totally redisigned the fbdev API. I have a huge patch but I couldn't get
it in. Now I am. You have to do it a small patch at a time. I make a tiny
little change that hardly noticable. After awhile those changes add up.
Even Vojtech is making that mistake. He has this new massive design which
never got into 2.3.x but should of. What he needs to do is port it to the
standard kernel a piece at a time.