[ltp] hotkey_mask on t40 with thinkpad-acpi 0.18-20071013

[Henrique de Moraes Holschuh]

On Tue, 06 Nov 2007, Jan Taegert wrote:
> > You cannot do that in a way that will work right now.  You would control the
> > volume output twice (unless you are using the output of a dock or extender,
> > which is not subject to the internal thinkpad mixer), but that reduces the
> > number of levels in half and can cause some nastiness...
> 
> That's a pity. I was hoping there would be a more elegant solution...

The volume keys on non-T61/R61 thinkpads are a "digital knob" to control the
output of the builtin speakers and earphone output jack.

They are *not* generic volume keys.  And I should add, they do *NOT* act
like generic volume keys in Windows, either.

This has been changed on the T61/R61.

> If I understood everything correctly there is on a t40 no possibility to
> use the <official> volume buttons (i.e. setting volume mute) in a way
> that the relevant software (mixer, etc.) knows about it (i.e. alsamixer

The relevant mixer *always* knows about it.  That's why we cannot use the
keys for something else.   It is just not the mixer you expect.  Your
thinkpad has *two* mixers.

And currently there is no kernel module that makes the "mono volume control
with mute" mixer of your thinkpad speakers and headphone output visible to
ALSA.

-- 
  "One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
  them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
  where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
  Henrique Holschuh