Re: laptop experiences...

[mc@hack.org]

cat@zip.com.au (CaT) writes:

> So... my quesiton is, how well are they supported under
> debian/linux? Is ibm's linux support more then just hot air?  Will I
> be able to do the funky things like hibernation and stuff under
> them? And so on... basically, is there anything icky about trying to
> run linux under these suckers that'd make one preferable over the
> other.

I have never had any experience of IBM's Linux friendliness, but I do
run Debian GNU/Linux on a ThinkPad 570 and I've done so for about a
year now.

Yes, APM control, hibernation and stuff works. I haven't tried the
sound support, the USB port nor the IR port, so I can't tell you
anything about that. The only gripes I have, so far, are:

1. The vanilla kernel wouldn't boot on the thing, if I recall
correctly. I did a search for the TECRA kernel and booted off that and
compiled my own as soon as possible.

2. The external keyboard port messes up. If I attach a PS/2 mouse,
everything works. If I attach a keyboard and type some random keys it
seems to register _mouse_ events and the mouse cursor (both under X
and with GPM running in console) moves spastically. If I attach a PS/2
splitter, neither keyboard nor mouse works. Any ideas?

Other than that, I'm very pleased with the small 570. It's very light,
doesn't have built-in CD-ROM, disk drive or anything like that. I
don't use any of those passed the OS installation anyway, so it works
wonderfully. Also, its battery life is great. I get about 2.5 hours of
battery life if I do heavy compiles and run tests. If I'm just
replying to e-mail and doing general text editing, I can get more like
3 hours.

--
Mikael "MC" Cardell <mc@hack.org>
Temple of the Moby Hack
Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.