NeXT Computers

[andreas_g]

Is anyone in here able to do a shadow framebuffer for gamma correction as described by Deek in one the previous posts?
This would be a great thing to try, at least for fast host computers.

@pl212:

I did forget about that! The version number in Default.table still says 1.00.

I will try to remember it for the next revision!
I'm glad the driver works for you!

[Deek]

It's actually not that difficult.

Essentially, what you do is let the window server write to the shadow FB, then whenever you're told to update the screen you copy the changed area to the real framebuffer, in the process applying your gamma ramp.

This has to be done one pixel/byte at a time, so it needs to be done as fast as possible, but the process is simple, something like this (pseudocode):

pixel = (pixel_t) shadowFB[location];

pixel.red = gamma[pixel.red];
pixel.green = gamma[pixel.green];
pixel.blue = gamma[pixel.blue];

realFB[location] = pixel;

where 'gamma' is a 256-wide array of bytes containing the pre-computed results of the power function (that is, what was passed in from setGammaRamp:), and 'pixel_t' is a packed structure with exactly the same memory layout as a framebuffer pixel. It gets more complicated if you can't create a structure that exactly matches a FB pixel (bit shifts, etc.), but it's still manageable.

[Carbamide]

Any chance of getting the driver to do 1024x600, like most netbooks? I like to run OPENSTEP under VMware on my HP mini, but it only does 1024x600, so I have to run OPENSTEP at 800x600.

Appreciate any reply!

Josh

[andreas_g]

As i don't have the skills to do the shadow framebuffer myself, i hope someone in here helps writing the code. Any help is greatly appreciated!

@carbamide:
I have updated the driver with the new display resolution (1024 x 600).
You can find it here: http://github.com/andreas-g/VMwareFB/downloads

Please give me a short feedback if it works for you.


Edit: Updated link to download page.

[oneNeXT]

[andreas_g]

Very nice! You can apply it to the project using github (http://github.com/andreas-g/VMwareFB).

Or you can send me the file(s) via e-mail. I've sent you a PM with my e-mail address.


Edit: Updated link to project page.

[Uli]

Hi,

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everybody involved here in getting this driver to finally work with today's screen resolutions. This is really great!

I remember very well how the old version of the driver worked just fine in Fusion 1 beta 1 & 2. This was enough to convince me to trust Fusion; I bought it and transferred all my data from my almost broken NeXT-Intel computer to a virtual machine. Then came beta 3 and nothing worked anymore in a reasonable screen resolution (and beta 2, of course, was time-limited).

I contacted VMWare as well as Atomic Object several times during 2007, but I had worse luck than Andreas, and nothing came ever out of it. I also lurked in this forum regularly, but no solution was available here, either, so I basically had given up any hope when I looked again today, only to find that in the last 3 months, when I didn't look, everything changed.

I can confirm the new driver version runs perfectly in 1600 x 1200 / 32 bit (window mode) in Fusion 3.02, Mac OS X 10.6.3.

Again, a big thanks to everyone involved!

Bye

Uli

[NeXT FREAK]

Hi,
Thank you for a cool driver. I am pleased that a wide screen is usable very much.

Because I found tips, I report.

i) I do not understand it somehow, but in my environment,
NEXTSTEP3.3J and vmplayer 3.0.1,
I had to change MemoryMaps to 0xf0000000-0xf0ffffff.
Without this change, kernel is reboot.

ii) At "1366x768" mode, mouse cursour is drawn incorrect.
I was able to revise it by changing the value of "modeTable".
"rowBytes" and "totalWidth" seem to have to be eight multiples.


This is a patch
"VMWareFB.m.diff"

---------

--- VMWareFB.m.org Wed Mar 17 02:58:16 2010
+++ VMWareFB.m Wed Mar 17 02:58:42 2010
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@
,
{
/* 1366 x 768, RGB:888/32 */
- 1366, 768, 1366, 5464, 60, 0,
+ 1366, 768, 1368, 5472, 60, 0,
IO_24BitsPerPixel, IO_RGBColorSpace, "--------RRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGBBBBBBBB",
0, 0
}

[Uli]

[NeXT FREAK]

[Uli]

Thanks for the explanation, NeXT FREAK!