previously, support for switching between virtual terminals -- or between virtual terminals and the X Window System -- was not fully implemented for newer Intel graphics cards. Users experienced a wide range of problems when they switched, including: losing the display completely; having the display filled with random, pulsating colors; receiving "out of range" or "can't display this mode" errors; the system ceasing to respond; or the system restarting. Cards affected included those with the G4X, G965, GM45, Q43, and Q45 chipsets. The driver now includes full support for switching to, from, and between virtual terminals, meaning that users can switch safely without encountering the problems that they experienced previously. (BZ#244933 , BZ#470450 , BZ#487657)

previously, no man page was provided to describe the "intel" driver included in this package, only the "i810" driver. A separate man page is now supplied for each driver. (BZ#467186)

the graphics cards supported by the two drivers in this package overlap considerably. Previously, this created confusion for users as they selected the driver to use with a particular card. A preferred driver is now specified for each card, and if users select the non-preferred option, they receive a warning that the particular combination of card and driver is not a supported configuration. This clarifies the use of the drivers in this package. Existing configurations will continue to function, regardless of the combination of card and driver. (BZ#479067)

Lenovo Thinkpad notebooks have a "Fn" key that can be combined with the numbered function keys to access a variety of features, typically including volume, screen brightness, sleep, and switching to an external monitor. Previously, these key combinations would not produce the desired outcomes on X61 Thinkpad notebooks. Although some of these functions were enabled by changes in other software components, no support existed within the graphics drivers for the key combinations that would brighten and dim the display. Support for these features is now present in the driver. X61 users can now use the hotkeys to control screen brightness on their notebooks. (BZ#468448)

previously, although the code to support HDMI output was included in the driver, this was not initialized while the system detected displays. Therefore, the system was unable to detect monitors connected by DVI. HDMI detection is now enabled so that when the system initializes displays, the system can detect monitors on DVI connections and output to them correctly. (BZ#476831)

previously, Xinerama mode was not enabled for the "intel" driver. Therefore, when users set Xinerama mode for a graphics card that uses the "intel" driver, the driver would crash. The "intel" driver now includes support for Xinerama, making this mode available to users. Note that a scrolling problem that users also experienced when using the "intel" driver for dual-head configurations was not related to this driver, and is resolved in a separate update for the X server. (BZ#477177)