[ltp] IBM Linux HOWTO for ThinkPad 600E and RH Certification

[Tom Rockwell]

Steve,

The certification is given by RedHat, they set the rules, not IBM. 
Briefly looking at the RedHat pages, it looks like the certification
essentially requires that the system "works" (mouse, disks, keyboard,
video) using the standard RedHat install.  Things like USB, sound,
modem, networking aren't covered in the certification.

IMO it's great that companies are moving in this direction.  Some
incompatibilities will take a while to resolve however.  I hope that
companies like IBM are now paying attention to Linux compatibility in
the design of future systems.

The 600's modem is a bit of a sore point, but I think it's important to
look at the big picture.  

You might compare the incompatibilities the Windows NT has to those that
Linux has.  NT doesn't do USB and isn't able to hot plug network cards. 
Still, NT is certified for various Thinkpads.


Tom Rockwell
(who doesn't own a modem :-)




Steven Filling wrote:
> 
> On 14-Sep-99 kfrechet@us.ibm.com extemporized:
> > This is just the beginning. As we add HOWTO's for other models, we'll try to
> > develop a useful page hierrarchy, with pages for common issues (eg. sound
> > configuration, kernel options, etc.).
> >
> 
> Don't get me wrong, Keith - I use a TP600 myself with RH 6, and appreciate
> IBM's good intentions.  But - how in the hell can you claim  certification when
> [as your pages note] the internal modem is completely unusable under linux?
> Does IBM not understand that marketing falsehoods do not improve it's public
> image?
> 
> TIA
> S.
> ----------------------------------
> Steven Filling
> E-Mail: steven@panopticon.csustan.edu
> Date: 14-Sep-99 Time: 08:56:22
> ----------------------------------