[Bug 337777] [NEW] Separate X sessions do not work in 8.10

[Ed Nisley]

Public bug reported:

Binary package hint: kubuntu-desktop

In Kubuntu 7.04, I managed to manually configure separate X sessions
using two nVidia video cards driving two monitors. The setup involves a
1600x1200 landscape monitor on the left and a 1680x1050 monitor rotated
90 degrees CCW on the right.

In Kubuntu 7.10, this worked reasonably well.

In Kubuntu 8.04 / KDE3, this works poorly. X seems to regard the right-
hand monitor as being 1600 (1680?) x 1200, so all windows maximize
incorrectly and "centered" dialogs appear off-center to the upper right
on that screen. I installed an nVidia-based dual-head card in the hopes
that it would work better, but that made no difference. The setup is
usable (I'm using it now), but not desirable.

The automatic configuration tools fall flat on their face: any attempt
to use the standard KDE display tools pooches xorg.conf. I must
carefully tweak xorg.conf to keep this setup working in the face of any
X changes.

In Kubuntu 8.10 / KDE4.2, this configuration flat-out doesn't work.
After considerable manual fiddling, I got a blank X session on the right
with the default X cursor and a black background; the mouse pointer
moves from one screen to the other, but that's as good as it gets. The
left screen works more-or-less normally, but with some weirdnesses.
Diligent searching reveals this is the common endpoint for all folks
attempting this configuration: KDE4 simply doesn't support separate X
sessions.

I do not want Twinview / Xinerama (which also work poorly for this
configuration), because I typically edit a single document in portrait
mode on the right screen while flipping between circuit simulators / web
browsers / PDF documents / PCB layout editors on the left screen. A
single X session using two screens does not support that functionality;
particularly in KDE4 which seems to lack the advanced window positioning
controls of KDE3.

Because KDE4 is mandatory with 8.10, I can't downgrade to KDE3, which
-might- work.

Although KDE4 seems to be the future, it would be immensely more usable
if it didn't introduce serious regressions from previous functionality.
I will gladly trade off all the Plasmoid foo-foos and Compiz go-fast-
stripes to get stable X capabilities that work the same way as 7.04.

The to-be-expected alpha-version issues in 9.04 prevent me from even
installing it at this point, so I cannot say whether it's an improvement
or not. From what I read in the forums, things do not look promising.

Perhaps this is less of a "bug report" and more of a plea for stability:
please, first make KDE4 *work*, then make it pretty!

I can provide any files that seem relevant or any further information
that will drive this process along.

Thanks...

** Affects: kubuntu-meta (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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Separate X sessions do not work in 8.10
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/337777
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