> Is there a way to configure the terminal to display at a different =
> resolution/color depth?
> Lilo carries this option, (video =3D 791 or something like that) but I =
> haven't seen a way to do it in BSD yet.

You mean the console?  Or the X server?

You can have some control over the ``resolution'' of the console by
loading a different font (I don't think that the video characteristics
change).  I don't know why you would care about the color depth on most
consoles.  (Though, e.g., on the Amiga, you might want a shallower screen
to improve speed.  I remember running my Amiga native OS with a 2-color WB
screen for this reason---as well as to conserve precious memory that could
be used for other purposes, such as running programs.  (^&)

On the other hand, on something like a PC, you wouldn't get any benefit
from using less than the normal color depth.

Using *more* than the standard color depth...I don't think that there's
really any standard way (or many/any programs) to exploit this in a text
console.  (And, for that matter, I'm not aware of any way to achieve
it---though the answer to this might be port-specific...)


On the other hand, with X, it's easy to vary color-depth (provided your X
server and configuration support it).  E.g., I use ``startx -- -bpp 16''
to get a 16-bit color depth; ``startx -- -bpp 24'' gives me 24-bit color,
etc.  (I don't know if the ``-bpp'' is XFRee86-specific; if you are using
a NetBSD port that doesn't use XFree86, you may need a different option.)

I've never wanted/needed to seledct resolution when starting X, but you
can easily use (with XFree86) <ctrl><alt><keypad +> and <ctrl><alt><keypad
-> to get much the same effect.

If you felt like it, you could create a custom front-end script to start
X, which would let you specify things like color-depth and resolution, and
then would rewrite your X configuration so that only that mode was
available.  (^&


  ``I probably don't know what I'm talking about.'' --rauch@math.rice.edu