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Linux on Laptops Manufacturer Report Card Updated
wehe writes "The Linux on Laptops Manufacturer Report Card
was updated. The changes are based on some of the criticisms the
first announcement at SlashDot has got.
A matrix of Original Equipment Manufacturers - OEM relations
was added together with tips and tricks how to identify the original laptop manufacturer. Also a list of
Linux laptop and PDA resellers was added.
Unfortunately even in our times of Linux success, support by laptop manufacturers
is seldom, or if provided not much helpful. Though the marketing departments of
some major manufacturers have announced Linux support for their laptops sometimes, it
was not developed or silently dropped. Because of the rapid development
(every manufacturer creates new models almost every three months) and the specific hardware of
mobile computer devices and accessories (see
Linux Mobile Guide for details),
it is important to have current and reliable information about their Linux compatibility.
A current example is Intel`s new Centrino(TM)
technology. Though there are many
Linux laptop installation reports
available already, Intel still does not provide full Linux support yet.
Note: the URL of the original "Linux on Laptops Manufacturer Report Card" has
changed from MobiliX to TuxMobil, because of severe trademark trouble
with Asterix and Obelix, as reported on
SlashDot."
When time for an upgrade came I thought: screw games, I'll go with whatever I get for mac if any. I want it mobile, no more desktops, basta. Should I spend > 1500 for a machine and still have to boot MS to get what I paid for? Should I struggle with poorly designed hardware strung together by a hideous bunch of hackish miniport drivers? Shall I risk frying my expensive HW because linux can't help but drop the towel because of some manufacturer's poorly standardized, buggy bios implementation of ACPI? No. ;-)
So I held my breath and bought an Apple. I miss linux though.
Mi domando chi à il mandante di tutte le cazzate che faccio - Altan
The "cheap" laptops tend to include bargain basement software modems, integrated lower-end video chipsets and the like.
Software modems are always going to be a problem, one alternative there is to simply get a PC card modem that linux supports.
Graphics chipsets for example are also going to be a problem simply because even though there may be good linux support for desktop chipsets/cards like the GeForce4MX 440 (which is what I have), getting the manufacturers to support the laptop and "integrated" chipsets is harder.
Although there is an answer to the whole display drivers issue. Move to a 3-part driver. Part 1 would be like the miniport driver on windows and would contain all the actual low-level driver support. This bit would reside in the kernel and would ideally be Open Source or at the very least have "open glue code" like the current NVIDIA drviers do. This part would also include enough to get text mode going properly.
Part 2 would be like the DDI driver on windows and would convert the data from x-windows, svgalib or whatever else into the cards native format. This could sit in userland space and wouldnt be loaded until a graphical app was loaded. It would talk to the kernel portion via a special call that would enable 2-way communication between both halves in a way that is driver-specific but at the same time independant from changes to the kernel.
Part 3 would then be the 3d portion of the driver and would be written to work specificly with OpenGL.
I got a formal response back from Intel to my inquiry about the availability of Centrino and they said they will not be releasing drivers - EVER.
The article seems to imply that this will happen by saying Intel hasnt released them "yet", so I wanted to clear this up.
In response to the post just above mine, who wondered what the appeal of integrated wlan was: this thing is a cool drink of water compared to the good old days of dongles, and even compared to the current days of wireless cards sticking an inch out of the side of the notebook begging to be broken off.
I had just assumed that drivers would just be a matter of time, as I bought my Dell "Centrino" just about 2 weeks after the debut. works great in windows =/
A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.
This Guy has an interesting writeup of how he got his Dell 600m to work in linux.
I have the same laptop, but im running Win XP Pro for now.
I wish that they would come out with recomendations for what to buy and not to buy. linuxprinting did that and it made it easy to decide what not to buy ( no canon, or lexmark home for me ). I also noticed that support got better on other printers.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
How about a dedicated laptop linux distribution? So you don't have to choose all the individual drivers for the various hardware of you notebook. Instead you would just choose the manufacturer and model e.g. "Acer Travelmate 340T" and everything would be set.
What do you think?
Get yourself a great deal on a new, but overstock, IBM Thinkpad at the IBM Authorized Ebay store.
Your dealing directly with Big Blue (you pay by credit card thru IBM's secure site), the laptops are brand new with full warranties, and the models are just a couple of steps behind their top of the line models. I have a Thinkpad X22, and everything works with Debian, even 3d acceleration.
The laptops they auction are heavily discounted, and many have a Buy It Now price for haggle free buying.
Also,check out IBM's Global Financing site for refurbished computers and laptops. Great way to get and older Thinkpad that is sure to work with Linux.