Solution to the monitor issue: dual-boot Windows XP (which likes the widescreen, and which doesn't have a few other minor annoyances Ubuntu does) and Ubuntu. And VLC Player works fine with DVDs in Windows. (I pity anyone who got grouched at by WMP or RealPlayer for not having bought the appropriate DVD decoder and who then bought the appropriate DVD decoder. VLC Player plays DVDs for free.) So it should work fine in Ubuntu though I have yet to check.
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