[HN Gopher] In praise of grobi for auto-configuring X11 monitors
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In praise of grobi for auto-configuring X11 monitors
Author : secure
Score : 68 points
Date : 2025-05-10 06:28 UTC (16 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (michael.stapelberg.ch)
(TXT) w3m dump (michael.stapelberg.ch)
| fn-mote wrote:
| Author doesn't even compare it to a second solution.
|
| Interesting to know, but I just use a hot key to attempt
| reconfiguration if something goes wrong. Works for me even if
| it's not a sign Linux is ready for non-technical users.
| secure wrote:
| Yes, I didn't want to analyze and compare different solutions,
| I just wanted to share the joy of finding a solution that works
| well for me.
|
| Using hot keys is nice, but hot keys (intentionally) don't work
| while my screen is locked. I contemplated mapping an xrandr
| call onto a smart button (Shelly Button 1, essentially
| triggering an HTTP request), but in the end grobi has the same
| effect and is even more convenient than having to press
| buttons.
| wokkel wrote:
| My windows laptop disconnects my monitor sometimes seemingly
| randomly. A sign that windows is not ready for non-technical
| users?
| JCattheATM wrote:
| Hardly, given the mountain of evidence to the contrary.
| conception wrote:
| You've never had to support windows non-technical end users
| I see.
| JCattheATM wrote:
| That's a silly assumption, and a silly point. By that
| reasoning, no OS is suitable for non technical users.
| raverbashing wrote:
| So once again you need to DYI your monitor configuration for
| Linux that for some reason works out-of-the-box pretty much in
| Windows and MacOSX
|
| _sigh_
|
| And that's for X11, which was built in a 70s model while Wayland
| leisurely moves forward
| secure wrote:
| The Dell UP3218K monitor I describe does not work "out of the
| box" on any OS. Even finding a GPU that can drive it at all is
| tricky.
| p_l wrote:
| It should work with tiled output, so long as a) it reports
| tiled geometry in DisplayID b) the driver handles it right.
|
| Then it should show up as single display.
|
| It's also how Apple XDR display presents itself to MacOS (two
| DisplayPort 1.4 tunnels over USB4, tiled layout in
| DisplayID).
|
| I suspect it's possible that it doesn't have a valid tiled
| geometry block, but that's something that was already handled
| right when first 4k displays landed, so...
| ikurei wrote:
| I use both Linux and Mac, and in my experience Mac's handling
| of multi-monitor setups and, specially, of them changing, is
| only slightly better than Linux's.
|
| For most situations you do not need to do anything difficult to
| plug any number of monitors to a Linux computer with a modern,
| full-featured distro, other than arranging them. Mac does a
| better job of remembering your setup and adapting to a monitor
| disappearing, but it's not that much better.
|
| I'm still not sure I understand why the author needed this
| tool, may be because they have more than one computer plugged
| into the same monitor?
| fsh wrote:
| Both Gnome and KDE handle (un-)plugging external monitors just
| fine. And Wayland has been the standard in all relevant desktop
| distributions for a couple of years now.
| sprash wrote:
| > while Wayland leisurely moves forward
|
| Debateable. But it sure started with huge step backwards. On
| X11 all relevant functions are at least standardized within the
| xrandr protocol. On Wayland you don't even have that. So it
| really depends on the compositor if it works or not where each
| is doing its own thing which is just crazy. I prefer the 70s
| standardization model of "mechanism, not policy".
| modzu wrote:
| im sensitive to coil whine and i hear it _everywhere_ :
| computers, light bulbs, phone chargers, you name it and if im in
| the same room as electronics i hear a high pitched squealing that
| others seem not to notice or care about. its inescapable and it
| sucks
| bobmcnamara wrote:
| I used to be. One high speed camera I could tell the frame rate
| consistency from the flash recharge whine.
|
| But one day a young engineer asked if I could hear my circuit
| when the load changed.
|
| I could not. I have become what I hated. The cycle continues.
| snthd wrote:
| >the monitor draws 30W even in standby
|
| That's absurd. There are regulations on standby power.
|
| https://dl.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_electronics_...
|
| >Power Consumption
|
| >0.2 W (Off Mode)
|
| >0.3 W (Standby Mode)
|
| Doesn't seem to be an isolated case:
|
| https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/monitors/up3...
|
| >UP3216Q, drawing 23 watts in Standby? (2019).
|
| I guess a takeaway from OP is to measure your _actual_ standby
| power draw.
| arghwhat wrote:
| So the solution is to complain and get a replacement unit it
| seems.
| snthd wrote:
| Maybe the behaviour is triggered by displayport cables with
| pin 20 connected.
|
| http://monitorinsider.com/displayport/dp_pin20_controversy.h.
| ..
|
| https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-
| us/000132935/the-20th-...
| out-of-ideas wrote:
| i hope more overlapping regulations than what energy star
| covered
| bobmcnamara wrote:
| Energy star is going away.
| arghwhat wrote:
| > Does grobi work on Wayland?
|
| See kanshi, which has a similar rule matching approach.
| bitwize wrote:
| It's 2025. You really shouldn't be using X11, which is
| effectively end-of-lifed.
| anthk wrote:
| We should be using Rio then?
| alabastervlog wrote:
| Or: stable and finished.
| rollcat wrote:
| Either that, or a dead end. X11 stayed afloat thanks to the
| endless extensions, in particular Xcomposite. Windows and OSX
| have had full modern graphics stacks for 20-25 years, _by
| default_. OSX in particular has provided backwards
| compatibility in a similar fashion as XWayland does (via
| Carbon).
|
| Every developer who cared about X11 has moved on; it receives
| little to no maintenance. We already have hardware/software
| where X11 is entirely unsupported. It's likely we'll see more
| in the future.
| bitwize wrote:
| Display tech keeps evolving. Proper scaling on HiDPI
| displays, HDR -- these are things X just doesn't (and will
| never) have support for because of its architecture. Wayland
| is the path forward. ALL of the developers who know anything
| about the display stack have committed to developing for
| Wayland and deprecating X.
| quantumfissure wrote:
| There are still plenty of reasons to use X11, mostly for
| software that doesn't support Wayland yet.
| secure wrote:
| Thanks for the advice. I try switching to Wayland every year,
| but it has never worked without heavy graphics artifacts /
| flickering / glitches on any of my machines (I use an nVidia
| GPU so that I can drive my Dell UP3218K monitor).
|
| Meanwhile, X11 works really well for me. No tearing, no
| artifacts, no breakages on upgrades. Really can't complain.
|
| Maybe next year.
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