In article <42CE1CAA.4030500@cox.net>, J Tsuzuki says...
> ...
>  I still believe that Toshiba should make available video 
> drivers to the purchaser. After all it is a small piece of software made 
> by ATI. I wonder if I bought a portable by another company like HP, 
> Dell, IBM, the situation might be different?
> ...


Are you asking Toshiba users to unite and sign a petition to force Toshiba 
to write drivers for all versions of current OSes? Or are you asking us 
never to buy Toshiba again? Or are you simply asking where you can get 
your needed drivers? Or something else?

To answer your last surmise about other companies, I can tell you that no, 
overall, the situation would be no different. Specifically video drivers 
being available or not, well, some of those mentioned make them available, 
some don't. But then there are WiFi drivers, sound card drivers, power-
save utilities, keyboard enhancement drivers, touch-mouse drivers, and a 
very long, long list of other drivers. All of the companies you mentioned 
withhold SOME of the drivers or don't even make them for certain OSes at 
all.

That's life with a laptop. They aren't the open architecture, plug in 
whatever you want, computers that desktops are. They are engineered to 
perform as efficiently as possible, with a small selection of parts that 
suppliers agree to manufacture for a specific period of time. The laptops 
are designed to work with those parts. They MAY work with other parts, but 
there are no guarantees.

More over, it's next to impossible for any tech support team to help 
people who've swapped devices or severely altered their software base. 
They have no idea what you changed, how, or in what order. For cost-
effectiveness, they have deliver a limited combination of parts and 
software, so they can (hopefully) provide support when problems arise.

You do have an alternative. Take your laptop to a dealer and have them 
install a compatible, but difference maker, video card. One that works 
with your Toshiba and one that provides drivers for the OS you choose.

What you're asking for is like changing the language on read-out panels of 
cars (the DOOR OPEN, LOW FUEL, 63 MIN. TO DESTINATION messages that show 
on the console). Sure, you can swap the language chip, and it's a do-it-
yourself job after reading up on it. But the problem is, you also have to 
change the ignition chip, the odometer memory chip, and a lot more. 
Changing language means, frequently, changing between MPH and KPH, and any 
chip having to do with speed ratings has to be changed also. 

In short, when you change one part, you wind up having to change others, 
as well. A replacement video card, compatible with your laptop, should get 
you the resolution you want. Don't expect any tech support from Toshiba, 
though. If your warranty has expired, no problem. But if still under 
warranty, you might wait until it runs out before making further changes.

Frisco