[15:14] <dash1> Is it a well known bug that calling 'xrandr' with no arguments will garble the screen? (On i915 on up-to-date Karmic.) 
[15:38] <bryce> dash1, no it is not
[15:39] <dash1> OK. Do you want to know more about it now, or should I report it.
[15:39] <bryce> report it
[15:39] <dash1> Will do.
[16:34] <dash1> bryce: Done. Bug #408432.
[16:35] <bryce> dash1, great thanks
[16:37] <dash1> I also have a problem when the VGA cable is plugged in, in that the resolution is lower than max. I didn't mention this in the bug report, because I guess that is a separate issue.
[16:38] <dash1> (This requires arguments to xrandr, to actually activate the external screen.)