Yesterday I spent more time playing in Ubuntu - the new challenge was getting Ubuntu to recognize and utilize my dual-monitor setup. Yes - in Windows it was a snap; not so in Ubuntu. But I found success at last.
My external graphics card is an Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 - a pretty low-end but 3D-capable graphics card. So first, I had to install Envy, which "is an application...which automates the installation of both ATI and Nvidia's proprietary driver on Ubuntu" (Envy can be downloaded here). Anyway, even if you already have a driver which works under Gutsy (Ubuntu 7.10), you'd be better off using Envy and "upgrading" the driver that way. I spent too much time trying to configure the screens and graphics in Ubuntu, but my Nvidia driver at the time did not have any options for me to setup multiple monitors. After installing and running Envy, I then had more options in my Nvidia settings.
After installing Envy, I went to the Terminal and entered the command line:
gksudo nvidia-settings
This is important! Although you can launch the Nvidia settings dialog from Application - System Tools, you have no authority to alter the settings and nothing will be saved. Therefore, it must be done as "Super User" via the Terminal.
In the Nvidia settings dialog, I set up my monitors in the X Server Display Configuration. In there, I set Ubuntu to recognize two separate X-screens; I set the resolutions for each monitor; it's important to set one monitor's position as absolute (the default monitor) and the other as relative. Anyway - trial and error, some playing around, and now I have this:
Once I had everything properly configured, I realized that I could not have Firefox running simultaneously on two monitors (and the setup I have achieved means I can't drag the windows across the monitors). Not feeling like playing too much under the hood, I found a simple work around: I installed SwiftWeasel (which can be found here)- an Open Source Firefox cousin. The interface is identical to Firefox, it installed beautifully, and even imported my Firefox profile.
So now as I type this blog post, I'm also watching some streaming episodes of Prison Break on monitor number two!
2 comments:
Cool I have always plugged away using sudo - I never knew about the gksudo command. Thanks for the tip.
for multiple firefox use: firefox -P to use a different profile!
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