X.org Server
Version: 1.18 Web: www.x.org
X.org is something that almost every Linux user runs but never pays any special attention to, as long as graphics work as expected. Those who need to run proprietary blobs for their Nvidia or AMD graphics chips may tweak X.org more or less often, while owners of Intel integrated graphics enjoy things that ‘just work’ without doing anything manually. X.org 1.18 is a result of eight months of development, and as expected it brings many important changes. To name a few, these include the updated RandR 1.5 extension, rewritten GLAMOR part for 2D acceleration, and more featurefilled Modesetting driver. RandR 1.5 sings on multi-monitor configurations: it can tile your desktop and arrange its specified parts on different physical displays, delivering great freedom. This is achieved via the new TILE property for the RandR extension and the new ‘monitor’ entity – both supposed to be used in xorg.conf.
Another big feature is the updated XWayland layer, which runs legacy Linux apps for the Weston compositor in Wayland. Wayland is maturing, but we can’t avoid the transitional period when tons of existing Linux applications must run inside Wayland, and XWayland will be the much-needed component.
The new X.org also features many improvements for the x86-videomodesetting driver. Perhaps the most exciting is the new Reverse PRIME technology. While the idea behind PRIME is to reduce CPU load by utilising the GPU for computing, Reverse PRIME makes dual-GPU configurations more effective by involving the CPU for certain graphic tasks. In the Screen section of the xorg.conf file it is now possible to specify which GPU device current options apply to, by putting something like GPUDevice usb0 at the end of the section.
Right now X.org 1.18 is a technology that will take some time to hit major Linux distros; you just have to wait. Very few distros let you try the latest X.org code right now (Arch may be the only one), and it is all still very experimental.
“RandR 1.5 sings on multi-monitor configurations.”