--- src/disper.py	2012-04-16 11:16:46.213176170 +0200
+++ src/disper.py	2012-04-16 11:17:40.533175089 +0200
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@
         self._options_init()
         self.plugins = Plugins(self)
         #self.plugins.call('init') # can't really do here since list of plugins isn't read yet
-        self.switcher = Switcher()
         # add default options
         # TODO do initial parsing too so errors can be traced to config
         conffile = os.path.join(os.getenv('HOME'), '.disper', 'config') 
@@ -181,6 +180,10 @@
             # show help if no action specified
             self.parser.print_help()
             raise SystemExit(2)
+
+        # delay backend init to this point, so help can be printed even if no backends are available
+        self.switcher = Switcher()
+
         if 'single' in self.options.actions:
             if self.options.displays != 'auto':
                 self.log.warning('specified displays ignored for single')