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n1vux (1492)

n1vux
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http://boston.pm ... x.cgi?BillRicker
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Only started with Perl4 and Perl5 in 1995. I was doing AWK etc for 12 years before that, and resisted switching. I've been doing OO since before C++ hit bigtime, with Objective-C and SmallTalk, so I really like the (no longer new) Perl5 OO style; and the Lispish Map style is also an old friend. What do I hack with Perl? All data that passes my way; systems monitoring scripts at $DayJob, weather data at night, and I cheat on NPR word puzzles. Member: Boston.pm.org [pm.org] BLU.org [blu.org] /. LinkedIn [linkedin.com]

N1VUX is my FCC-issued ham radio callsign.

Journal of n1vux (1492)

Saturday May 21, 2005
09:47 PM

Linux and Laptops

[ #24815 ]
I got a good deal on a IBM ThinkPad T23 laptop at the MIT Fleamarket/Swapmeet/Hamfest, or so I thought.

My attempt to partiton the harddrive to allow dual-boot failed, so it is Linux only now. I thought a desktop-style distro like Ubuntu would do well on it now, but the "Warty" release that I picked up CDs for at LinuxWorld in Boston/February gave it serious overheating problems. Updating to 2.6.10 kernel / "Hoary Hedgehog" seems to have helped, although I've also put a laptop cooler under it pro-tempore.

Ubuntu is pretty cool aside from heating up the laptop - Default install includes Gaim, Firefox and Evolution (email), all seem quite good. I do now see why some people find paying for Mandrake a convenience, the Debian-style Firefox from Ubuntu comes without Java support.


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  • I can't comment about ubuntu per se but having used both rpm based and deb/apt based distros (Red Hat and Debian) I can't square the idea of rpm being convenient. Even on my Red Hat training course it caused problems, deb/apt is a superior solution, it just works.

    I'm told that Mandriva (aka Mandrake) is a good distribution, but then again I'm told that [k]ubuntu is also a good distribution, I've not really used either so I can't really comment. Both ubuntu and Knoppix live disks booted perfectly on my ant

    --
    -- "It's not magic, it's work..."
    • RPM is more convenient that tar.gz based source distros -- but even Gentoo now has "emerge" for easy-in.
      --
      Bill
      # I had a sig when sigs were cool
      use Sig;

      • I've never used a tar.gz based distro, so I can't comment, but on my official Red Hat training course we hit "RPM Hell" where we couldn't install something because of a failed dependancy, and it was impssible to solve without being told which extra package to install first. That wouldn't happen with a deb/apt system.

        I can see that rpm is better than what went before, and the typical monolithic solution on Windows systems.

        --
        -- "It's not magic, it's work..."
        • How did the RH course recommend solving the RPM Hell problem? Is there a master-list of dependancies?

          I gather there's a port of "apt" to manage RPM's and their dependencies, as long as the repository has the dep's, which the major ones do now. Why would anyone not ?-)
          --
          Bill
          # I had a sig when sigs were cool
          use Sig;

          • There is some online tool which they sell, but on the course the instructor knew what rpm to install first, so we did that, then the actual rpm we needed installed okay. Without the instructor telling us which rpm to use, we would have been googling for an answer...

            There is an "apt" tool in Fedora Core, but not Red Hat Enterprise - though you could probably install the Fedora one.

            --
            -- "It's not magic, it's work..."
    • Oh, I missed where my point was obscured? My point wasn't comparing RPM vs apt/synaptic and the archives -- I do prefer apt, even commandline -- it was whether the initial install CD (and supported archives) include the useful but non-free add-ins like Java or not, that folks reasonably expect a broser to just come with, but have license issues. The FireFox Plug-In FAQ and the UbuntuGuide.com "Unofficial Add Ons" CD aren't necessary with a commercial non-free Linux; manual installs of Java RTE are requir
      --
      Bill
      # I had a sig when sigs were cool
      use Sig;

      • I see what you mean. I always disable things like Flash and Java, as they only slow down browsing, and are mostly used by advertisers. I think of them as very low priorities, but I can see how others may not.

        --
        -- "It's not magic, it's work..."
        • Indeed. on IE, I set these to be for trusted sites only. I've run across a few uses of Flash for technical exposition, and the NWS radar loops use Java for looping the frames. I hope Firefox will let me control several degrees of trust, haven't dug that far yet.
          --
          Bill
          # I had a sig when sigs were cool
          use Sig;
      • The Ubuntu community have found a few ways to make the un-convenient installation of the non-free extras almost convenient, and the Forums have the links to solve other HW problems
        • T23 screen resolution [ubuntuforums.org] and 3d support.
        • Ubuntu Backports and Extras [ubuntuforums.org] repository: Ubuntu doesn't keep taking fixes (except egregious security fixes) after release, so you don't get upgrades to packages. To get the update releases ... e.g., Firefox 1.0.4 that has the security patches, and realplayer, you need to add apt sources f
        --
        Bill
        # I had a sig when sigs were cool
        use Sig;
  • I've seen reports in press that HP can also do factory-direct load of Linux on laptops, not sure which distor.
    --
    Bill
    # I had a sig when sigs were cool
    use Sig;
  • I thought from the docs that I'd get better heat control if I switched from "powernow" to "cpudyn" as the userspace throttle-policy-bot, but when I rebooted this morning the throttle was full-speed-ahead and the CPU temp was climbing fast, so I switched on the cooler and did a quick re-install of" powernow" with synaptic. (And this time remembered to change the screensaver from one of the trig-and-graphics-heavy cpu-burners to a nice slow lame barcodes.)
    --
    Bill
    # I had a sig when sigs were cool
    use Sig;
  • I used a T20 for around six months last year. It was a great little machine which got much better after I dumped Gnome and switched to XFCE. That and some careful APM tweaking made the machine more responsive and longer lasting.

    -sam

    • If 2.6.10 and Ubuntu didn't make APCI work decently, I'd certainly be switching back to old APM!

      The T23 is fast enough that I probably can survive Gnome. I do wish the screen were larger, but hey.

      Cheers,
      --
      Bill
      # I had a sig when sigs were cool
      use Sig;
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