Since Hardy I have discovered a minor irritant. Finally my (Averatec 1000 series) Fn keys work for the monitor (the external monitor key and the blank screen key). However:

1. When the cable is plugged in before I power up, the external screen comes up with good resolution to the login screen.
2. When I login, when X gets to a certain spot, the external screen goes blank. After a certain point of the desktop loading, I can hit the Fn External screen and it pops up; then I hit the Fn Blank Laptop Screen and it goes blank. Works as expected from then on out.

So...why? Is there a way to have the system continue to use the properly detected external screen in lieu of laptop screen after I login? That is what I would expect it do, especially if the lid is closed. As I said...this is more annoyance than anything - this is the first Ubuntu distro where the Fn display keys worked at all.

And...
3. If I don't have the VGA plugged in, when I login and then plugin and use the external screen the resolution isn't properly detected and looks wonky.
4. If I restart X (ctrl-alt-backspace) with the VGA plugged in it works as above and looks proper. It just seems odd to me that if it works in one instance it doesn't in another. At least I don't have to reboot the machine, which is what I have had to do in previous versions.

Anyway...any help would be appreciated.