Besides to save power, Linux can be used to make computers less harmful to our environment and to solve some ecological issues. The Linux-Ecology-HOWTO explains how to use Linux to save power and consumables like paper and ink. Since it does not require big hardware, Linux may be used with old computers to make their life cycle longer. Games may be used in environmental education and software is available to simulate ecological processes.
Motorola is no the only manufacturer offering mobile phones with Linux operating system. Here is an overview of mobile phones with Linux pre-installed. The entries marked with an asterisk *) show around twenty manufacturers which offer Linux on mobile cellular phones.
The article titles one section "Linux OEM companies can survive, even flourish". In this section three US based companies are considered as Linux OEMs. At least for laptops and notebooks this statement seems wrong, because as far as I can see non of these companies manufacturers these devices themselves, though they pre-install Linux on them. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a really "free" laptop or notebook available yet. But at least
you can get Linux pre-installed on laptops and notebooks from different vendors around the world.
From my experience the market for pre-installed Linux boxes is still small, at least for PDAs, laptops and notebooks. I guess for pre-configured servers there is a bigger market and rumours are that more and more mobile phones are coming with Linux. BTW: here is my international overview of Linux laptop, notebook, mobile phone and PDA vendors.
foot mouse and other adaptive input devices
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Mouse or Trackball?
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· Score: 1
Not every keyboard is ready to get cleaned in a dishwasher. In some cases you have to disassemble them and clean all the parts separately. Here are guides to take apart a computer keyboard and clean it for keyboards made by almost any manufacturer.
The TuxMobil Linux Compatibility Survey for Media Players lists more than 100 compatibility reports for many audio and video players. There is also a survey of useful Linux software to organize, convert and sync your MP3, Ogg and MPEG files.
Hacking the iPod and modding other portable media players seems to be an interesting hobby for computer nomads. The Repair4Player project lists all kinds of repair, upgrade and hacking guides for portable players.
It's much fun to own a custom-made laptop, but it's not necessary to pay one million dollar for it. This overview of do-it-yourself laptops and notebooks gives you some ideas how to build a personalized portable computer from scratch. If you don't want to start from scratch, you may use a so-called barebone or white-box laptop as a beginning.
Linux can be used as a means to protect our environment, by using its features to save power or paper, since it doesn't require big hardware it may be used with old computers to make their life cycle longer, games may be used in environmental education and software is available to simulate ecological processes. I described this means in the Linux-Ecology-HOWTO.
More DIY Laptops
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DIY Laptop
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· Score: 4, Interesting
There is an interesting overview of guides to make a do-it-yourself laptop at Repair4Laptop. If you don't want to build it completely from scratch you can consider to make it as a so-called barebone or white box laptop. Barebones are also featured in a separate section of the overview.
As far as I can see there is no official announcement from Lenovo about Linux on their laptops available yet. The articles at DesktopLinux/eWeek only propose an official announcement in two weeks. And nothing about some important details: would the pre-installed Linux support all the hardware of a ThinkPad, let's say the internal modem? and how well will the hardware be supported, e.g. will 3D acceleration work together with all the suspend-modes and an external projector? will there be Free and Open Source drivers available? will it be possible to use all these nice features (if provided really) with other Linux distributions, too? will the hardware be cheaper because of the missing MicroSoft tax? There have been rumours from other manufacturers about pre-installed Linux laptops recently, see A History of Blurb, Rumours, Vaporware, False Alarms and a Little Truth Concerning Linux Laptops. But as far as I can see you can't buy one yet, at least not in the U.S. or in Europe.
There are many different Wikis available. All with different pros and cons. To compare them all is the aim of the WikiMatrix project. If you are not sure which Wiki is best for you, WikiMatrix offers a Wiki choice wizard.
Linux can be used as a means to protect our environment, by using its features to save power or paper, since it doesn't require big hardware it may be used with old computers to make their life cycle longer, games may be used in environmental education and software is available to simulate ecological processes. I described this means in the Linux-Ecology-HOWTO.
There are even more iPod fun moddings, for example a case mode made from an old German police flashlight, the RetroPod: fitting an iPod into a Sony Sports Walkman, the Altoids shuffle case, a fashion modding, the Wringley's Juicy Fruit iPod Shuffle mod and more.
Slashdot Mirror
Besides to save power, Linux can be used to make computers less harmful to our environment and to solve some ecological issues. The Linux-Ecology-HOWTO explains how to use Linux to save power and consumables like paper and ink. Since it does not require big hardware, Linux may be used with old computers to make their life cycle longer. Games may be used in environmental education and software is available to simulate ecological processes.
Motorola is no the only manufacturer offering mobile phones with Linux operating system. Here is an overview of mobile phones with Linux pre-installed. The entries marked with an asterisk *) show around twenty manufacturers which offer Linux on mobile cellular phones.
The article titles one section "Linux OEM companies can survive, even flourish". In this section three US based companies are considered as Linux OEMs. At least for laptops and notebooks this statement seems wrong, because as far as I can see non of these companies manufacturers these devices themselves, though they pre-install Linux on them. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a really "free" laptop or notebook available yet. But at least you can get Linux pre-installed on laptops and notebooks from different vendors around the world.
From my experience the market for pre-installed Linux boxes is still small, at least for PDAs, laptops and notebooks. I guess for pre-configured servers there is a bigger market and rumours are that more and more mobile phones are coming with Linux. BTW: here is my international overview of Linux laptop, notebook, mobile phone and PDA vendors.
There is a huge variety of input devices, besides mice, trackballs, trackpoints, touchpads, tablets, pens, etc.. For some examples see this overview of DIY Custom Mouse Replacements - Selfmade Adaptive Pointer Devices and Foot Mice.
Not every keyboard is ready to get cleaned in a dishwasher. In some cases you have to disassemble them and clean all the parts separately. Here are guides to take apart a computer keyboard and clean it for keyboards made by almost any manufacturer.
The TuxMobil Linux Compatibility Survey for Media Players lists more than 100 compatibility reports for many audio and video players. There is also a survey of useful Linux software to organize, convert and sync your MP3, Ogg and MPEG files.
Hacking the iPod and modding other portable media players seems to be an interesting hobby for computer nomads. The Repair4Player project lists all kinds of repair, upgrade and hacking guides for portable players.
It's much fun to own a custom-made laptop, but it's not necessary to pay one million dollar for it. This overview of do-it-yourself laptops and notebooks gives you some ideas how to build a personalized portable computer from scratch. If you don't want to start from scratch, you may use a so-called barebone or white-box laptop as a beginning.
Linux can be used as a means to protect our environment, by using its features to save power or paper, since it doesn't require big hardware it may be used with old computers to make their life cycle longer, games may be used in environmental education and software is available to simulate ecological processes. I described this means in the Linux-Ecology-HOWTO.
There is an interesting overview of guides to make a do-it-yourself laptop at Repair4Laptop. If you don't want to build it completely from scratch you can consider to make it as a so-called barebone or white box laptop. Barebones are also featured in a separate section of the overview.
There is a project dedicated to keyboard modding, repairing and cleaning, which lists many more guides for keyboard hackers.
There are many guides to create your Make Project available for free. So why bother to buy the book. For example: here are guides to "create a [homemade portable] digital audio jukebox" and here is a list of tutorials explaining how to build a "wireless network range extender".
Besides the parts you often need repair instructions. Here are free repair tutorials and upgrade guides for laptops and notebooks from almost any manufacturer.
Here are guides and tutorials about building a custom selfmade laptop or notebook. You may also find some hints to make a so-called barebone or white-box laptop there.
As far as I can see there is no official announcement from Lenovo about Linux on their laptops available yet. The articles at DesktopLinux/eWeek only propose an official announcement in two weeks. And nothing about some important details: would the pre-installed Linux support all the hardware of a ThinkPad, let's say the internal modem? and how well will the hardware be supported, e.g. will 3D acceleration work together with all the suspend-modes and an external projector? will there be Free and Open Source drivers available? will it be possible to use all these nice features (if provided really) with other Linux distributions, too? will the hardware be cheaper because of the missing MicroSoft tax? There have been rumours from other manufacturers about pre-installed Linux laptops recently, see A History of Blurb, Rumours, Vaporware, False Alarms and a Little Truth Concerning Linux Laptops. But as far as I can see you can't buy one yet, at least not in the U.S. or in Europe.
Linux support from laptop manufacturers seems still poor. But there are some independent retail shops which offer Linux pre-configured on laptops and notebooks. They offer different laptop brands, some of them e.g. Xtops.DE are specialized in pre-configured Debian or SuSE Linux on Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads.
There are many different Wikis available. All with different pros and cons. To compare them all is the aim of the WikiMatrix project. If you are not sure which Wiki is best for you, WikiMatrix offers a Wiki choice wizard.
Linux can be used as a means to protect our environment, by using its features to save power or paper, since it doesn't require big hardware it may be used with old computers to make their life cycle longer, games may be used in environmental education and software is available to simulate ecological processes. I described this means in the Linux-Ecology-HOWTO.
Here are some tips for theft and loss protection for laptops and notebooks. This article is dedicated to Linux users, but some of the tips are applicable to other operating systems as well. Some of the techniques work for other portable electronic equipment (PDAs, mobile phones, et. al.), too. But note: some devices which are offered to provide physical security can be by-passed easily. For example there are different approaches for hacking laptop and notebook cable locks.
I am trying to collect some Chinese resources about Linux with laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. But I didn't get much submissions yet.
Just in case you want a custom-made model, here are some links to do-it-yourself instructions for selfmade laptop and notebook bags and backpacks. Currently only three HOWTOs but I am confident there will be more soon.
See TuxMobil for Centrino Duo on Linux laptops and notebooks. Yesterday the first installation report about Linux on a laptop with Dual Core (aka Yonah) has arrived. And I expect even more soon. Sidenote: in previous threads 64bit CPUs have been discussed as alternative solution. Linux on laptops and notebooks with 64bit CPU (AMD64) is already widespread.
There are even more iPod fun moddings, for example a case mode made from an old German police flashlight, the RetroPod: fitting an iPod into a Sony Sports Walkman, the Altoids shuffle case, a fashion modding, the Wringley's Juicy Fruit iPod Shuffle mod and more.
Because laptops sales will outperform desktop sales soon, laptop and notebook moddings should occure in this top ten list, too. Often they are more difficult to modify and need special modding techniques for laptops. To me my weirdest laptop hacks are these fun moddings: laptops made from bread and chocolate as well as virtual hacks (some of them have been slashdotted already).