November 2003
Updating an older SuSE Linux 8.1 to 9.0 works flawlessly:
glxgears gives about 620 frames per second. The
DisplaySize is not set correctly by SaX, correct that to
DisplaySize 286 214. Here is the SaX-generated XF86config. apm -S (as root). Scrambles the X
display and freezes keyboard and mouse and makes the machine
inaccessible (except remotely per ssh). The kernel
says:apm -S is issued on a virtual
console, then nothing visible happens. Conclusion: standby is not
supported by the BIOS.apm -s (as root) or
automatically by specifying a short time interval in the BIOS. The
machine halts and powers off. The power button wakes it up again,
after which everything except USB works: X-Windows, Network,
Sound.Additionally to the apmd, the cpufreqd is
configured via /etc/sysconfig/powermanagement.
Below is my older installation log of SuSE Linux 8.1.
December 2002
There is not much to say about installing SuSE8.1. It works perfectly almost out of the box:
DisplaySize 286 214.)
In order to use the 3D support of the card,
SCRIPT_3D="switch2xf86_glx" should be
set in /etc/sysconfig/3ddiag. Then gears
gives about 590 frames per second.Only the power management needs a little manual intervention. SuSE8.1 uses ACPI instead of APM by default, which apparently is known not to work on the Dell Inspiron, as the kernel says:
Dell Inspiron with broken BIOS detected. Refusing to enable the local APIC.
Simple solution is to disable acpi, by adding the boot parameter
acpi=off to /boot/grub/menu.lst. Then
APM works, apm (and other utilities) show the battery state,
and the following power management actions are possible:
apm -S (as root). Scrambles the X display
and freezes keyboard and mouse and makes the machine inaccessible
(except remotely per ssh). The kernel says:apm -S is issued on a virtual console, then nothing
visible happens. Conclusion: standby is not supported by the BIOS.apm -s (as root) or automatically by
specifying a short time interval in the BIOS. The machine halts and
powers off. The power button wakes it up again, after which everything
except USB works: X-Windows, Network, Sound.Look into /etc/sysconfig/powermanagement for
configuration options and read the
corresponding SDB article.
Judging from the entries in the PCTel Winmodem in Linux compatibility database, the modem (00:1f.6 Modem: Intel Corp. 82801CA/CAM AC'97 Modem (rev 01)) may or may not work with that driver. I haven't tried. As reported
The BIOS apparently does not have a temperature or fan control.
(/usr/sbin/sensors-detect does not detect anything.)
Below is my older installation log of SuSE 7.3.
November 2001
Since my Toshiba Satellite 110CS (featuring a Pentium 100 and 40MB RAM) was getting less and less able to run the software I use on my desktop, I went shopping for a new notebook. I wanted a notebook that is large enough to have its own internal CD/DVD drive, but is as light-weight as possible otherwise. The constraints were:
The weight constraint ruled out most of the standard "all-in-one" notebooks. The price constraint ruled out many of the super-light subnotebooks with internal DVD-drive. I looked at the following notebook assemblers: Compaq, IBM, Toshiba, HP, Sony, Fujitsu-Siemens, Samsung, Sharp, Dell, Acer, Asus, Gericom, Xeron, Lynx, and ended up with four possible choices:
Compared side by side, the Dell Inspiron offered the most bang for the buck. The only potential problem was that Dell would need much longer to deliver.
Judging from some newsgroup discussions, Dell seemed to have significant delivery problems early 2001. I guessed that those may have been related to temporary delivery problems by Intel or other parts providers. So I called Dell and asked how long it would take. They said about two weeks, and they kept their promise:
This produces a workable system.
Section "Monitor" HorizSync 15-84 VertRefresh 30-78 ... # try the true size in millimeters: DisplaySize 286 214 ...This translates to a resolution of 124x124dpi. If you now find the fonts too large, give a larger (wrong) display size. I also commented out all FontPaths to fixed-width fonts without the attribute "unscaled":
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/local" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi:unscaled" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/URW" FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Speedo" # FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi" # FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi" ...
I played a few rounds of minesweeper (in WinME) to test the touchpad versus the trackstick: The "touch=click" feature of the touchpad is almost unusable as too many "left clicks" are issued by just moving the mouse pointer around with a light pressure. (Fiddling with the touchpad driver options does not help.) In "Myst III Exile", however, I find the touchpad easier and more intuitive to use than the track stick. So it depends on the application.
Coming from an 800x600 display on the Toshiba Satellite, I am absolutely amazed by the new display.
For a short time, the notebook was faster than my desktop
antares. See my benchmarks.