Ubuntu Oneiric (11.10) X.org Plans

[Bryce Harrington]

[Apologies for those who've already seen this; mdz thought it would be
of interest to the broader ubuntu-devel@ audience.  I've updated it with
the feedback we received from the driver vendors.]


This email summarizes some key information regarding Ubuntu's plans for
the upcoming Oneiric (11.10) release as it relates to video drivers.
I've indicated the assumptions we're working to; if any of this looks
incorrect to you, please let me know ASAP.


Target Versions for Release
---------------------------
   kernel:              3.0.0
   libdrm:              TBD (Probably 2.6.26)
   mesa:                7.11 (Plus updates; see 5 below)
   x-server:            1.10
   xorg:                7.6
   drivers:             TBD (Latest releases by Aug 18)
   gnome libs:          3.2 (GTK3)

Important Dates
---------------
   Aug 18th             Deadline for driver version updates
   Sep 1st              Beta 1
   Oct 13th             Final Release

Driver-Specific Requirements
----------------------------
   -intel:              All Intel chipsets >= i915 (see 6 below)
          DRI:          DRI2
          KMS:          "On" for all chipsets by default

   -ati:                All Radeon chipsets
          DRI:          3D on chipsets
          KMS:          "On" for all chipsets

   -fglrx:              Radeon chipsets R600 and newer only
          DRI:          Unspecified
          KMS:          No

   -nouveau:            All Nvidia chipsets >= NV04
          DRI:          3D on chipsets NV04 and newer *NEW*
          KMS:          "On" for all chipsets

   -nvidia (legacy):    Older Nvidia chipsets
          KMS:          No

   -nvidia (current):   Newer Nvidia chipsets
          KMS:          No

Notable Changes
===============
1.  The default graphical fallback will change from GNOME classic to
    Unity 2D where driver support for 3D is insufficient.

2.  The default display manager will change from GDM to LightDM.

3.  The ubuntu-x team will be maintaining a staging PPA with
    xserver 1.11 and other components for Ubuntu 12.04, which will be
    available later this year.

4.  For fglrx and nvidia we are exploring post-release driver updates
    for users on an opt-in basis (via Jockey "Hardware Drivers")

5.  Post-release, we plan to attempt incorporating updates from the mesa
    point releases.  We are coordinating with Keith Packard to ensure
    mesa's point release process aligns with Ubuntu's SRU requirements.
    These updates are expected to in improved Ivy Bridge support which
    will be new in oneiric, along with other high impact fixes.

6.  In natty, we stopped Ubuntu development support for the 8xx chipset;
    these may still work ok with the -intel driver but we no longer
    field bug reports or backport fixes for them.  This policy will
    continue in oneiric, but we'll reevaluate for oneiric+1.  Meanwhile,
    please work with upstream directly for 8xx problems.


Daily development snapshot ISO images of Oneiric are available at:
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/

Newer upstream snapshot packages of X and the kernel are available at:
  https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa
  http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/

Bryce