The release numbering is based on the original MIT X numbering system. X11 refers to the version of the network protocol that the X Window system is based on: Version 11 was first released in 1988 and has been stable for 15 years, with only upward compatible additions to the core X protocol, a record of stability envied in computing. Formal releases of X started with X version 9 from MIT; the first commercial X products were based on X version 10. The MIT X Consortium and its successors, the X Consortium, the Open Group X Project Team, and the X.Org Group released versions X11R3 through X11R6.6, before the founding of the X.Org Foundation.
There will be future maintenance releases in the X11R6.8.x series. However, efforts are well underway to split the X distribution into its modular components to allow for easier maintenance and independent updates. We expect a transitional period while both X11R6.8 releases are being fielded and the modular release completed and deployed while both will be available as different consumers of X technology have different constraints on deployment. We have not yet decided how the modular X releases will be numbered.
We encourage you to submit bug fixes and enhancements to bugzilla.freedesktop.org using the xorg product, and discussions on this server take place on xorg@freedesktop.org .
X11R6.8.1 comes with a graphical configuration tool called
"xorgcfg",
which also has a text mode interface and can be used to create an initial
configuration file. It can also be used to customise existing
configurations.
Next in the order of configuration preferences is to use the Xorg server's ability to create a starting configuration file. Run as root:
Xorg -configure
Finally, if all else fails, the trusty old standby text-based tool
"xorgconfig" can also be used for generating X server config
files.
At least one, and hopefully, all of these configuration options will give you a reasonable starting point for a suitable configuration file. With the automatic mechanism you might even find that you don't need one!
If you do need to customise the configuration file, see the xorg.conf manual page. You can also check the driver-specific manual pages and the related documentation (found at tables below also.
Before downloading the binary distributions for this release, please have a quick read through the Installation Document. It may save you some time and also help you figure out which of the binary releases you need.
The next section describes what is new in the latest version (6.8.1) compared with the previous full release (6.8). The other sections below describe some of the new features and changes between 3.3.x and 4.0. There are lots of new features, and we definitely don't have enough space to cover them all here.