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."

HP, Compaq + ATI = worst support ever

[Anonymous Coward]

Just FYI for those buying a laptop --

The "Radeons" that come with most new HP/Compaq laptops aren't really radeons. They are "Radeon IGP320/340" chips.

These -do not- work with the radeon 3d driver. To repeat: if you buy these laptops, you'll only get 3d support under windows. There is -no- 3d support under linux.

HP, Compaq, and ATI have all stonewalled on the issue. Getting support on this issue from any of them is useless. Heck, the only reason 2D works is because good folks in the community made it happen.

The bottom line is if you want accelerated 3D, look elsewhere.

Knoppix

[anonymous coword]

Isthe only distro that dectects my laptop's hardware very well. SuSE and RedHat Severn work good as well, but I'm still waiting for Drivers for the ATI 3D RAGE mobility card on it. My laptop is a SONY VAIO PCGFX-401, it somehow "convenitently" had a spare 6 GB partition where I installed Linux on.

Re:HP, Compaq + ATI = worst support ever

[Metasquares]

Supposedly, one of the later 2.5 kernel patches introduced agpgart support for the Radeon IGP. I did manage to get agpgart to detect the ATI Northbridge on my HP Pavilion in 2.6.0-test2 (Something I couldn't do in 2.4.20-9), but I still couldn't get the DRI driver to work. I haven't played with it too much, but it seems that it may work with some tweaking in 2.6 kernels.

Re:That's why I got a powerbook

[Chuck Bucket]

I bought an iBook and threw Gentoo on it. For what I need, admining servers at work, life, wireless, great battery samba access, gnome2, nothing beats it. Also I can run mol (mac on linux) if I need to access the OS X side. The best of both worlds if you ask me.

CB

Re:Centrino WLAN

[Yue]

Centrino seems to be losing its appeal to Linux users.

If you care, there is a "Intel Support of Centrino Under Linux Petition" here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/xanthan/petition.htm l
Please go sign it.

Thinkpads

[joel8x]

I just installed Mandrake 9.1 on a T20 without a hitch. Once you peel of the "designed for Windows" sticker on the case, you have a laptop completely free of Microsoft since there is no Windows key on the keyboard!

iBook is teh bomb!

[Genady]

I bought my first iBook in the fall of '01, and am now on my second. OS X + iBook = bliss. Occasionally I'll look at Sony's newest bit of eye candy and start to drool, then I tell myself that my os choises are Linux or XP and I get over it. Seriously Linux is good, but OS X is just better. I haven't had to hand edit a system file since 10.2, I'm hardly ever in Terminal anymore. Now if they could just put vi command mode in Hydra I'd be a happy camper.

Re:Linux on Dell Inspiron 2650

[pe1chl]

The 2650 was about the last in the Inspiron series that was a nice machine. You are lucky.

The newer models cannot even run Windows 2000!
Dell is becoming a Windows-XP-only shop, probably under pressure from Microsoft.

Be careful when you choose your 802.11g card

[localghost]

Linksys 802.11g cards [linksys.com] (and the new version of their 802.11b PCI card [linksys.com]) don't work in linux. The chipset manufaturer, Broadcom [broadcom.com], is holding back specifications on the card. If you want 802.11g in linux, the best solution is the D-Link card [dlink.com], or the Netgear one [netgear.com]. Both use the Intersil [intersil.com] Prism GT chipset. Intersil is very open about their design, and supports the development of open source drivers for Linux and other operating systems. Even if Broadcom were to open up, Intersil is more likely the company you would be wanting to give money to.

Still, drivers for the Broadcom chipset would be nice, so take a minute to sign the petition [petitiononline.com].

Averatec

[mAineAc]

I bought an averatec laptop and got everything working great on it including 3d acceleration. I bought the laptop at best buy for $549. I was worried about it at first because of it being so cheap.

Re:PCMCIA.... what a pain...

[uberslack]

I installed Slackware [slackware.org] on my Dell laptop, and I didn't have any problems at all with PCMCIA support.

Miss Linux no longer

[Johnny Mnemonic]

Linux is surely available for Macintosh hardware. Yellow Dog Linux [yellowdoglinux.com], from Terrasoft [terrasoftsolutions.com], is a port of Red Hat specifically designed for the Apple line of hardware.

In fact, you can purchase Apple gear directly from TerraSoft with a dual boot of OS X and YDL at no extra charge, and maintain the original Apple warranty.

I haven't used YDL myself, since I'm happy with the terminal in OS X--but my understanding is that, since, like Apple, they only have to support a specific line of computer hardware, that everything that comes with an Apple machine works out of the box, ie the modem, FireWire, etc.

Re:Centrino Support - Intel says NEVER

[OneFix]

Lets clarify...Intel might not be releasing drivers for their 2100 Pro 802.11b cards, but many Centrino laptops already work 100% (minus the wireless).

The other thing is, Intel only specifies an 802.11b card, if the manufacturer decides on an integrated dual a/g or a/b card, they are then free to choose their own manufacturer.

The other point to all of this is that, the actual chipset used in the 2100 Pro is the Symbol Spectrum24 chipset. Which already has PCMCIA Drivers [sourceforge.net]...no mention of Mini-PCI support, only that it isn't there yet.

However, Intel origonaly stated they would not support Centrino on Linux and then quickly back-peddled and said they would.

If you really want to know when Centrino support shows up, check this [tuxmobil.org] page on TuxMobil...

Speculation from vendors is that Intel probably has beta drivers in house and is waiting for Broadcom to release their wireless drivers.

Knoppix

[Jebediah21]

Probably been said already but Knoppix [knoppix.net] is the ultimate way to test a notebook for Linux compatibility. It doesn't cost anything to go to a store and try it out on one of their demo machines. If you can't test or they don't have the machine try to go the Apple route as another poster said. I personally love the iBuddie 901 DeskNote [desknote.net] I have. NewEgg.com used to sell them but no longer does.

Complete Open Source Laptop OS & Firmware

[LuxuryYacht]

What really needs to be worked on is not just a laptop that runs Linux but laptops that feature the completely open firmware of LinuxBIOS.

One of the final hurdles in open firmware for laptops is having support for the "system/keyboard scan controllers". Closed source offerings include:

Insyde Software [insydesw.com]

Phoenix [phoenix.com]

The keyboard scan, power managment (power buttons, cover open/closed, battery charger supervision) on a laptop is typically done separate from the cpu and chipset with a 16 or 32 bit micro (typically by SMSC, Renasas or Fujitsu) with its own firmware with lots of GPIO and keyscan I/O. These controllers are generally tied in with the SMbus for SPD, system management (temp & Voltage monitors) and FLASH ROM BIOS write enables.

Has anyone come across any open source projects that have started work on this?

Linux on IBM T22

[calix]

I've been quite successful installing Redhat 7.2, 8.0 and 9.0 on an IBM Thinkpad T22. My only complaints are that my serial Palm cradle doesn't seem to connect. Otherwise - display, video adapter (ATI Rage) and all other ports are working fine. Ok, well, the built-in winmodem doesn't work, but I expected that. I've even gotten a wireless NIC from Micro$oft installed and working.

One meaningless complaint is the lack of connectors from Ximian for Exchange 5.5 (POP isn't sufficient for me)...