Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!apple!altos!gumby!ti From: ti@gumby.Altos.COM (Ti Kan) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc Subject: Re: X-server for IBM-PC Keywords: X server, PC/Xsight Message-ID: <4689@gumby.Altos.COM> Date: 8 Feb 91 03:16:10 GMT References: Reply-To: ti@altos.COM (Ti Kan) Distribution: na Organization: Altos Computer Systems, San Jose, CA Lines: 40 I am currently using Locus Computing's PC/XSight package on my system, and am quite pleased with it. My PC is a 386 AT, with Orchid Prodesigner SVGA/NEC Multisync 3D, and a 3COM Etherlink II 3C503 ethernet card. It is running the PC/Xsight server under DOS, and running clients on Altos UNIX hosts via TCP/IP. I am using the Motif window manager (mwm) running as a X11R4 client on an Altos box. I am currently running FTP Software's PC/TCP on my PC. I used to use Locus Computing's TCP/IP for DOS but have since switched to FTP Software's product because of additional features. PC/Xsight will work fine with either network package. PC/Xsight is a DOS-based X window server that turns your PC into an X terminal. It also allows you to pop into DOS and run local commands. Performance is quite good, and the look-and-feel is exactly that of an X terminal (unlike some DOS-based X servers that run under MS-Windows). Video display support is quite extensive, and SVGA resolutions are supported, but most are limited to 16 colors, unless if you have an IBM 8514 adapter/monitor (256 colors). I would expect Locus to be adding more video support in their future releases. A neat feature of PC/Xsight is that you can configure the display screen to be a viewport of a larger "virtual screen". For example, I can have a 640x480 physical screen but have a virtual screen that's 1024x768. When the mouse cursor is moved toward the edge of the display the entire display pans up/down or left/right to reveal the hidden portion of the virtual screen. This is nice because one can have the larger desktop area afforded by the larger virtual screen, but still have xterm windows with font sizes that are readable. I have experimented with Visionware's Xvision X server, but didn't like the look-and-feel (it's MS-Windows based). Also, on my machine it ran much slower than PC/XSight. I also tried PC/XView from GSS(?) but couldn't get it to work properly on my PC and gave up. -Ti -- Ti Kan | vorsprung durch technik! \\\ Internet: ti@altos.com \\\ UUCP: ...!{sun|sco|pyramid|amdahl|uunet}!altos!ti /// \\\ The opinions herein are not necessarily those of Altos. ////////\