On Sat, Sep 23, 2000 at 02:38:44PM +1100, CaT wrote: > Hey folks. I'm thinking of getting one of them laptop thingies > and running debian on it. After a wee bit of looking about I > am stuck between an ibm thinkpad and a toshiba satelite (pro). > The first due to their publicised linux support and the 2nd > cos it seems to be well recommended by friends. Both of them > have prettymucht he features I want.
I recommend the Thinkpad. I have an older model (760el), pretty happy with it. I have heard bad things about Toshiba and linux support, especially with respect to the Ir port. I have not been able to get 800x600 console mode though :( It is slow enough to make running X undesireable. Although X does run. > > So... my quesiton is, how well are they supported under > debian/linux? Is ibm's linux support more then just hot air? > Will I be able to do the funky things like hibernation and > stuff under them? And so on... basically, is there anything > icky about trying to run linux under these suckers that'd > make one preferable over the other. There is a utility called tpctl (thinkpad control) in Debian. It requires you to compile the kernel modules from tpctl-modules-source and install the resulting tpctl-modules. It works differently on various thinkpads (supports different features or not). You must make /dev/thinkpad, and the program uses that. You can set stuff like what happens when the lid closes/opens, which mouse to use (internal/external), what to do in case of fire, etc. It has ntpctl, an ncurses front end. It mentions hibernation, but I am ignorant on this subject. > > I welcome any URLs that ppl may have that'd help. I currently > have a wee collection of: > > Certification - IBM ThinkPad 390X > http://www.linuxcare.com/labs/certs/pad390x.epl > > Linux on a ThinkPad 755C > http://www.wam.umd.edu/~renomero/linux-tp > > Linux on Laptops > http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/linux-laptop/ Yes, those are good. If I ever get around to it, I will write another tp760el page for the archives. > > Are there any others that'd be helpful? Anyone have any personal > experiences they wanna send me? (privately or otherwise) > > Basically, these suckers are expensive and I don't wanna make > a fubar. I hear ya'. Mine is factory refurb and slow and it still cost be a pretty sum. > If there's a better list I could ask this on I'd appreciate subscription > info for it too. (I know of linux-laptop@vger.kernel.org already... will > be asking there also) > > -- > CaT ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > 'He had position, but I was determined to score.' > -- Worf, DS9, Season 5: 'Let He Who Is Without Sin...' > -- Pat Mahoney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "We waste so many moments standing on convention" -- Nick Hexum
