> Isn't there a way to switch between the console and X? Under Linux you 
> just hit cntr-alt-Fn where n is the number of the virtual console you 
> want to go to and your screen flashes and it does it, just like in dt 
> except X is added to the list of things you can switch to. It's very 
> convenient.

Not at the moment.  I've used Linux before, and I must admit it's
convenient.  However, dt and the builtin console driver don't support this
at the moment.

> Dont get me wrong, I prefer NetBSD. An more importantly, I dont want 
> people to start arguing about different features in one or the other. I 
> just happened to have enjoyed this feature and since other people seem to 
> want it, was wondering if it was available (or easy to add).

It's probably not all that easy to add, actually considering the way that
the grf and adb devices are currently handled.

> I tend to agree with the people who said a while back on this list that 
> it's better to keep dt out of the kernel so maybe this could be handled 
> by dt and require no system intervention. But then again I dont anything 
> about dt internals.

I'm not sure how easy it would be.  At least under the current model, both
dt and X like to grab /dev/grf0 and /dev/adb and hold them open, not
letting anything else use them.  So, we'd probably have to change the
semantics of these two devices if nothing else.

I hope this clears things up some.

Later.

-- 
Colin Wood                                      ender@is.rice.edu
Consultant                                        Rice University
Information Technology Services                       Houston, TX