Well, as I said, the default Gentoo kernel build didn't support it, but the following HOWTO gave me the info I needed to patch the kernel with a custom DSDT override. Everything works great.
No need to pay for drivers... the GPL ndiswrapper on sourceforge works great with the broadcom wireless pcmcia and integrated mpci cards.
And there are also multiple free and open source drivers out there to make winmodems work... the PCTel driver should work for most of the inspirons.
Not sure about your DSDT problem, I've never had a problem with the power management yet.
I just installed a dual boot Gentoo/XP system for my sister on an inspiron 5100 about a week ago with no trouble, it works great. She said she might have me do it again and make the windows partion a lot smaller since she won't need it much except to play a couple games and use some win only CAD software for work.
Yeah I know pretty much any binary distro is probably easier than Gentoo... I just like the ability to build an entire system from source really fast without having to spend days finding all the right patches, etc.
Especially handy for my AlphaServer since there essentially aren't any binary distros for it anymore that are up to date.
Yes, the power management was a bit tricky too since the Gentoo kernel by default didn't have the right options selected.... it does work though with relatively little effort.
Using the handy genkernel script, I bet even my mom could do it... although the menuconfig/xconfig might not be totally intuitive if you've never compiled a kernel.
In general though, linux is several orders of magnitude easier to use than it was when I started using it in 1996.
Gentoo works fine with all the dell laptops in the Inspiron series. Probably works on all of the dells since the hardware is pretty much the same, but I've only used Inspiron.
The wifi setup is tricky, but it works just fine on my company WLAN once I configure it properly.
KDE looks pretty sweet on my LCD with 1920x1200 resolution @ 32 bpp. IMHO, The sub-pixel rendering looks nicer than the cleartype in XP.
you are lucky... i've talked to a lot of people on ATTBI and its basically a crap shoot. A lot of people say its great, but just as many say its the worst service they've ever used.
yeah belive me, we've tried telling them that they need to test the node and upgrade the equip but they clearly don't give a toss about the customers they are screwing.
as long as people keep paying the $45/month they'll continue to not give a toss.
i've been running servers on my ATTBI connection also. At one point they even sent me an evil threatening email and called me on the phone and threatened me saying bad things would happen if I didn't immediately comply with the ATTBI "acceptable use policy".
I just told them to go screw themselves. Sent them a 1000+ word email explaining in detail how stupid their policy is and why considering the way it is written at least 95% of the subscribers must be violating it and I told them I would just switch to DSL if they continued the scare tactics.
After that I haven't heard a word from them... so i guess they either decided to drop the issue, or they are sending the FBI to burn down my house and put me in jail for 40 years.
They are HORRIBLE. Service worse that described by that guy. I've had several service interruptions lasting longer than 4 days. And all sorts of other horror stories. I could write a book.
If they start capping, i'll be jumping to DSL instantly.
As far as I'm concerned AOL is nothing but a bunch of criminals. Nothing but shady business deals, cooked books, and corrupt executives.
I've had the "pleasure" of dealing with them many times over the years in various partnerships, etc with some former clients. Believe me, I've seen what goes on in that company, its enough to make Enron look like a saint.
The only difference is that somehow AOL managed finagle a deal with Time Warner which made them appear to be a legitimate business.
Its like the Mafia buying up legitimate companies so they can hide the criminal nature of the organization.
I dont know where people get the idea that mozilla is big and/or slow.
I use mozilla on all my linux and windows boxen. On windows (1.2 ghz Athlon) it runs faster than IE6 (which many window users think is the fastest browser) and it uses less memory and less disk space.
As far as performance on my main linux machine (dual 533mhz Alpha) it seems to run even faster than in windows, so I don't see why anyone would complain about it being slow or big.
I realize that there are faster browsers... Opera for example... but to get faster you have to sacrifice some functionality. I think Mozilla offers the best of both worlds. Speed + functionality.
My solution is currently an iPAQ H3970 [compaq.com] talking to a Nokia 6310i [nokia.com] via bluetooth.
yes, this is the type of solution I would prefer... a small ear piece or phone wirelessly interfaced to a pda. i can't stand holding a huge box up to my face while talking on the phone, it makes me look like a dork (well, i am a dork, but that doesn't mean i have to advertise it while i walk down the street). A little pricey at the moment though... i'm not sure i'd use it enough to be worth the cost.
I dunno about you guys but I really dont like KDE or GNOME that much.
I've been using Enlightenment for years, I find it to be very stable, and IMO it looks much better too.
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Well, as I said, the default Gentoo kernel build didn't support it, but the following HOWTO gave me the info I needed to patch the kernel with a custom DSDT override. Everything works great.
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=122145
The ACPI4Linux project which was mentioned in the gentoo forum post above was where I ended up finding the most info about the problem
http://acpi.sourceforge.net/dsdt/
No need to pay for drivers... the GPL ndiswrapper on sourceforge works great with the broadcom wireless pcmcia and integrated mpci cards. And there are also multiple free and open source drivers out there to make winmodems work... the PCTel driver should work for most of the inspirons. Not sure about your DSDT problem, I've never had a problem with the power management yet. I just installed a dual boot Gentoo/XP system for my sister on an inspiron 5100 about a week ago with no trouble, it works great. She said she might have me do it again and make the windows partion a lot smaller since she won't need it much except to play a couple games and use some win only CAD software for work.
Yeah I know pretty much any binary distro is probably easier than Gentoo... I just like the ability to build an entire system from source really fast without having to spend days finding all the right patches, etc. Especially handy for my AlphaServer since there essentially aren't any binary distros for it anymore that are up to date.
Yes, the power management was a bit tricky too since the Gentoo kernel by default didn't have the right options selected.... it does work though with relatively little effort. Using the handy genkernel script, I bet even my mom could do it... although the menuconfig/xconfig might not be totally intuitive if you've never compiled a kernel. In general though, linux is several orders of magnitude easier to use than it was when I started using it in 1996.
Gentoo works fine with all the dell laptops in the Inspiron series. Probably works on all of the dells since the hardware is pretty much the same, but I've only used Inspiron. The wifi setup is tricky, but it works just fine on my company WLAN once I configure it properly. KDE looks pretty sweet on my LCD with 1920x1200 resolution @ 32 bpp. IMHO, The sub-pixel rendering looks nicer than the cleartype in XP.
I think it looks like crap.
actually it is mentioned. you must have missed it ;)
Great...a new x86 java now if only we had an Alpha version.
you are lucky... i've talked to a lot of people on ATTBI and its basically a crap shoot. A lot of people say its great, but just as many say its the worst service they've ever used. yeah belive me, we've tried telling them that they need to test the node and upgrade the equip but they clearly don't give a toss about the customers they are screwing. as long as people keep paying the $45/month they'll continue to not give a toss.
i've been running servers on my ATTBI connection also. At one point they even sent me an evil threatening email and called me on the phone and threatened me saying bad things would happen if I didn't immediately comply with the ATTBI "acceptable use policy". I just told them to go screw themselves. Sent them a 1000+ word email explaining in detail how stupid their policy is and why considering the way it is written at least 95% of the subscribers must be violating it and I told them I would just switch to DSL if they continued the scare tactics. After that I haven't heard a word from them... so i guess they either decided to drop the issue, or they are sending the FBI to burn down my house and put me in jail for 40 years.
I'm on ATTBI in Marlborough MA.
They are HORRIBLE. Service worse that described by that guy. I've had several service interruptions lasting longer than 4 days. And all sorts of other horror stories. I could write a book.
If they start capping, i'll be jumping to DSL instantly.
As far as I'm concerned AOL is nothing but a bunch of criminals. Nothing but shady business deals, cooked books, and corrupt executives.
I've had the "pleasure" of dealing with them many times over the years in various partnerships, etc with some former clients. Believe me, I've seen what goes on in that company, its enough to make Enron look like a saint.
The only difference is that somehow AOL managed finagle a deal with Time Warner which made them appear to be a legitimate business.
Its like the Mafia buying up legitimate companies so they can hide the criminal nature of the organization.
I dont know where people get the idea that mozilla is big and/or slow. I use mozilla on all my linux and windows boxen. On windows (1.2 ghz Athlon) it runs faster than IE6 (which many window users think is the fastest browser) and it uses less memory and less disk space. As far as performance on my main linux machine (dual 533mhz Alpha) it seems to run even faster than in windows, so I don't see why anyone would complain about it being slow or big. I realize that there are faster browsers... Opera for example... but to get faster you have to sacrifice some functionality. I think Mozilla offers the best of both worlds. Speed + functionality.
My solution is currently an iPAQ H3970 [compaq.com] talking to a Nokia 6310i [nokia.com] via bluetooth.
yes, this is the type of solution I would prefer... a small ear piece or phone wirelessly interfaced to a pda. i can't stand holding a huge box up to my face while talking on the phone, it makes me look like a dork (well, i am a dork, but that doesn't mean i have to advertise it while i walk down the street). A little pricey at the moment though... i'm not sure i'd use it enough to be worth the cost.
I'm not sure why anyone would use this unless they have some wierd disability. Keyboard is clearly much faster and more versitile.
I dunno about you guys but I really dont like KDE or GNOME that much. I've been using Enlightenment for years, I find it to be very stable, and IMO it looks much better too.