[TriLUG] without better support from the vendors...

[Ed Hill]

Chris Merrill wrote:

> ...linux will not be successful on the desktop.



Hi Chris,


I understand and appreciate your fustrations.  And no, i don't think 

you're an idiot.  I think perhaps you've (unfortunately) chosen a
laptop model that has (somewhat) difficult hardware.  This is not a
unique situation--only a few years ago laptops were notoriously
difficult to use to their fullest with Linux.  The good news is that
situation *is* changing for the better and new drivers will continue
to appear...

 
> When it was time to upgrade in September, I chose a Thinkpad T23.


Ok, I considered that model but recently bought the cheaper A22p 

(2629Y1U) and am typing this email on that laptop...


I've also installed & tweaked various Red Hat versions on numerous 

thinkpads (560, 600X, 240, i1560, A22p) and am a bit surprised by
the number of HW problems that you list.

So have you looked at the new T23 entries on www.linux-laptop.net?

   http://www.linux-laptop.net/ibm.html
   http://www.math.uakron.edu/~chad/linux_t23.html
   http://www.patoche.org/alone/info/t23.html
   http://www.rithvik.com/linux/tp23.html

They list specific advice on how to get a binary driver for your
graphics chipset and how to get sound working (apparently works out-
of-the-box w/RH 7.2).

Also, according to http://www-alphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/~mdavis/t22/,
hot-swapping the Ultrabay2000 won't work but "warm-swapping" it
generally will.

If you want help with getting the serial device working, contact me
off-list (I've been using the serial port on my laptops a *lot* over
the past year as I'm writing userspace controllers for rare and odd-
ball lab instruments...).

Good luck and don't give up too easily!
Ed

ps - Have you tried "chmod a+rw /dev/ttyS[0-4]" as permissions
      are the most common reason that folks report serial port
      failures...


-- 
Edward H. Hill III, PhD
Post-Doctoral Researcher    |  Emails:   <ed at eh3.com>, <ehill at mines.edu>
Division of ESE             |  URL:      http://www.eh3.com
Colorado School of Mines    |  Phone:    303-273-3483
Golden, CO  80401           |  Fax:      303-273-3311