Linux on a Toshiba Satellite U500 series

There is a Linux Launchpad Team for owners/developers of the Toshiba Satellite U500 Series laptop:

http://launchpad.net/~toshiba-u500-series

New Launchpad team: Lenovo IdeaPad U Series Linux team

A new launchpad team has been created for the Linux owners/developers of the Lenovo IdeaPad U series:
http://launchpad.net/~lenovo-ideapad-u-series

For people interested in having Linux 100% compatible on models like the Lenovo IdeaPad U330, IdeaPad U350, IdeaPad U450, IdeaPad U450p, IdeaPad U550, etc.

Some of the challenges for these laptops in Linux is to have switchable graphics working, i.e., the ability to switch on/off the discrete graphics card. By switching off the ATI card on the U330 model, the power consumption reduces from 23W to 13W.

Check out this package:
http://ljr.free.fr/archives/lenovo_u330/

Or simply manually install:

Makefile:
=====
ifneq ($(KERNELRELEASE),)
    obj-m := lenovo_acpi.o
else
    KERNELDIR ?= /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
    PWD := $(shell pwd)


default:
    $(MAKE) -C $(KERNELDIR) M=$(PWD) $(EXTRA_FLAGS) modules

clean:
    $(MAKE) -C $(KERNELDIR) M=$(PWD) $(EXTRA_FLAGS) clean

endif
=========

lenovo_acpi.c
======
/* Linux kernel module that disables the discrete graphics board for Lenovo
 * U330. Other lenovo laptops could work, but I don't know.
 *
 * Copyright (c) 2009: Sylvain Joyeux <sylvain.joyeux@m4x.org>
 */
#include <acpi/acpi.h>

MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");

static acpi_handle root_handle;

static int __init kill_ati(void)
{
    int i;
    acpi_status status;
    // The device handle
    acpi_handle handle;
    // The package elements
    union acpi_object package_elements[3];
    // The arguments to ATPX
    union acpi_object atpx_arg_elements[2];
    struct acpi_object_list atpx_arg;
    // For the return value of ATPX
    struct acpi_buffer buffer = { ACPI_ALLOCATE_BUFFER, NULL };

    status = acpi_get_handle(root_handle, "\\_SB_.PCI0.OVGA.ATPX", &handle);
    if (ACPI_FAILURE(status))
    {
        status = acpi_get_handle(root_handle, "\\_SB_.PCI0.OVGA.XTPX", &handle);
        if (ACPI_FAILURE(status))
        {
            printk("lenovo_acpi: cannot get ACPI handle: %s\n", acpi_format_exception(status));
            return -ENOSYS;
        }
        printk("lenovo_acpi: in discrete graphics mode\n");
        return 0;
    }

    for (i = 0; i < 3; ++i)
    {
        package_elements[i].type = ACPI_TYPE_INTEGER;
        package_elements[i].integer.value = 0;
    }

    atpx_arg.count = 2;
    atpx_arg.pointer = &atpx_arg_elements[0];

    atpx_arg_elements[0].type = ACPI_TYPE_INTEGER;
    atpx_arg_elements[0].integer.value = 2;

    atpx_arg_elements[1].type = ACPI_TYPE_PACKAGE;
    atpx_arg_elements[1].package.count = 3;
    atpx_arg_elements[1].package.elements = &package_elements[0];
   
    status = acpi_evaluate_object(handle, NULL, &atpx_arg, &buffer);
    if (ACPI_FAILURE(status))
    {
        printk("lenovo_acpi: ATPX method call failed: %s\n", acpi_format_exception(status));
        return -ENOSYS;
    }
    kfree(buffer.pointer);

    printk("lenovo_acpi: disabled the discrete graphics card\n");
    return 0;
}

static void dummy(void)
{
}

module_init(kill_ati);
module_exit(dummy);
===============

HP G60-120 US and Linux

Another HP G60/G61/G70/G71 laptop with full support for Linux, the HP G60-120US:

Product Specifications - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

Product Name	G60-120US
Product Number	FS184UA#ABA
Microprocessor	2.00 GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-70 Dual-Core Mobile Processor
Microprocessor Cache	1 MB L2 Cache
Memory	3072 MB
Memory Max	3072 MB
Video Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 8200M
Video Memory	Up to 1470 MB
Hard Drive	250 GB (5400 rpm)
Multimedia Drive	LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Display	15.6" Diagonal High Definition HP Brightview Display (1366x768)
Fax/Modem	High speed 56K modem
Network Card	Integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Wireless Connectivity	Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN
Sound	Altec Lansing speakers
Keyboard	101-key compatible with full size keyboard with integrated numeric keypad
Pointing Device	Touch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical scroll Up/Down pad
External Ports	5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards 3 Universal Serial Bus USB 2.0 1 VGA (15-pin) 1 HDMI 1 RJ-11 (modem) 1 RJ -45 (LAN) 1 headphone-out 1 microphone-in
Dimensions	14.88" (L) x 9.9" (D) x 1.38" (min H)/1.61" (max H)
Weight	6.06 Ibs
Security	Kensington MicroSaver lock slot Power-on password Accepts 3rd party security lock devices
Power	65 W AC Adapter 6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)
What's In The Box	WebCam with Integrated Microphone

HP G60-530US and Linux

The HP G60 is one of the best selling laptops in 2009, and the G60-530US brings the Intel WiFi Link 1000BGN chipset, which is fully supported under Linux.

Product Specifications HP G60-530US Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

Hardware

Product Name	G60-530US
Product Number	VM084UA#ABA
Microprocessor	2.10 GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor T4300
Microprocessor Cache	1 MB L2 Cache
Memory	3072 MB
Memory Max	4096 MB
Video Graphics	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
Video Memory	Up to 1309 MB
Hard Drive	320 GB (5400 RPM)
Multimedia Drive	LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Display	15.6" Diagonal High Definition HP BrightView Display (1366x768)
Fax/Modem	High speed 56k modem
Network Card	Integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Wireless Connectivity	Intel WiFi Link 1000BGN
Sound	Altec Lansing
Keyboard	101-key compatible with full size keyboard with integrated numeric keypad
Pointing Device	Touch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical scroll Up/Down pad
External Ports	5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards 3 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 1 Headphone out 1 microphone-in 1 HDMI 1 VGA (15-pin) 1 RJ-11 (modem) 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
Other Devices	HP Webcam with integrated microphone
Dimensions	14.88" (L) x 9.9" (D) x 1.38" (min H)/1.72" (max H)
Weight	6.57 lbs
Security	Kensington MicroSaver lock slot Power-on password Accepts 3rd party security lock devices
Power	65W AC Adapter 6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery

A review for the Dell Studio 14z and Linux

Dell.com Studio 14z Customer Ratings & Reviews - Top & Best Rated Products

Title: Great on the Go

Date: October 25, 2009

Product Uses: Connecting with Friends, research, statistical analysis, web surfing, video games

Review:This is probably the nicest laptop I've ever had for the highly mobile lifestyle.

The web site doesn't, in my opinion, do a very good job of describing the form factor of this little machine. A 14" screen doesn't sound like it's much smaller than the usual 15" screens that you find every day, but this laptop is quite a bit smaller and lighter than the 15" it replaces. It fits nicely in my lap on a bus or train, and I barely notice the weight difference in my bag. The display, while diminuitive, is bright, crisp, and readable- and I'm using the 720p display.

The build quality of the machine is solid. It's held closed just by the friction of the hinge, but that's plenty. The colourful matte finish looks professional and smooth. The display half of the machine on the inside, as well as the bit above the keyboard, are done in black gloss, which does pick up fingerprints, but they're not bits you have to touch.

The keyboard is a laptop keyboard. That said, it's still quite comfortable. You may have a bit of trouble if, like me, you're used to a lot of spacing between letter keys and other function keys on the keyboard, like the arrow keys. There is no space on this keyboard between anything. The F-key configuration (where the F1-F12 keys are mapped to media keys by default, and provide their normal F-key when combined with Fn) is actually very sensible, but if you don't like it it can be disabled in the BIOS. Also, yes, this mapping is done in the BIOS, so it's the same in Linux or any other OS. And Alt-F4 addicts- it seems that that keystroke combo works without Fn, but I'm running Linux so Windows users, YMMV.

The touchpad is a bit close to the keyboard, and that could get annoying if it weren't for my judicious use of syndaemon. Linux users, look it up. Your sanity may depend on it. I haven't had any other troubles with it, though, so I must conclude that the issues others have had are OS- or driver-specific.

Oh, and you may have missed this- gigabit ethernet!

Speaking of Linux, this machine runs perfectly well under it. Everything is automatically detected and enabled in Ubuntu, though you do need to enable the proprietary wi-fi and nVidia drivers, so you might need to hook it up to the internet via Ethernet to do that at first. Personally, I'm running Gentoo, and it works spectacularly.

There are two issues I have with this machine. One is the lack of a built-in card reader. This is a feature that's pretty standard on laptops nowadays, and it shouldn't be an "option"- not to mention I couldn't find the option in the customization system. The other is that it does not come with Linux pre-installed. As I mentioned, it runs Linux very nicely- why Dell won't give us the option on this system is beyond me, especially when it's such a unique system.

And no, the lack of an optical drive hasn't bothered me yet.

Three new launchpad teams

There are now three new teams in Launchpad for people using Linux on the following laptops:

For linux users of the Dell 14z or the Dell 15z laptops:
http://launchpad.net/~dell-14z-15z
For linux users of the Sony Vaio NW-series:
http://launchpad.net/~sony-vaio-nw-series
For linux users of the Lenovo G550 laptop:
http://launchpad.net/~lenovo-g550

If you own or develop under Linux for any of these laptops, please subscribe to the team.

Sunday count update

Best selling laptops under Linux Launchpad groups:

• HP G60/G70 and Linux -- 34 active memberships
• HP Pavilion dvxz and Linux (dv4z, dv5z, dv7x, Compaq-CQ4x) -- 21 active memberships