[ltp] Linux on the T20

[Harry Mangalam]

Thanks very much, Keith!  It's reassuring that IBM is watching this list. 
I have one Thinkpad (770X) and tho it's nowhere near obsolete (heavy, but
it's been kicked around the road and hasn't hiccuped - and i find myself
using it to the exclusion of my desktop now), I was looking covetously at
the new T20.  I've been watching IBM's approach to Linux with
near-disbelief, but am becoming a believer in their support of Linux.
Again, thanks for the note - much appreciated.

hjm



kfrechet@us.ibm.com wrote:
> 
> Lai,
> 
> As Frank Novak mentioned, our Linux models for the T20 and A20m will soon
> be generally available. However, I'll respond to your individual items. I
> realize that you might not have the option of buying the Linux model, and
> perhaps you'll need to install Linux on T20's that you already have.
> 
> 1. S3 IX/8 video - The stock XFree86 SVGA server does not accelerate this
> chipset, and the S3 X server currently on the S3 web site (version 1.0.11)
> results in a corruption problem when switching between X and consoles when
> run on a T20. S3 corrected the problem in a later X server, which we are
> including in the preload. S3 plans to release that driver on the web, via
> the XFree86 license. We've included the source code with our preload.
> 
> 2. Crystal audio - The standard ALSA drivers work, with the following
> limitations: 1) PCI bus power management must be disabled in BIOS, 2) the
> audio drivers must be stopped and restarted to recover from power events
> (suspend / resume, hibernate / resume, etc.). In our preload, we had
> Linuxcare create code to programmatically disable PCI bus power management
> so that no BIOS changes need to be made by the user, and they modified the
> ALSA driver to better handle power events on the T20. Source code for the
> custom development (PCI bus power management and ALSA driver) is included
> with our preload.
> 
> 3. APM is supported, including standby, suspend, hibernate, and resume.
> Since APMD is not included with the base Caldera OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4
> product, we added APMD and updated APMD_Proxy as appropriate for our
> hardware. Since KDE is the default desktop, we added the KCMLAPTOP package,
> which gets you a battery meter and power management / PCMCIA control panel
> applet. In the preload, there is an ~550 meg FAT partition that is used to
> house the hibernation file. The default hibernation file is large enough
> for the 128 Meg of RAM included in the Linux model, and can be regenerated
> using the included PHDISK utilitity if more memory is added.
> 
> Although you didn't ask about it, I'll comment on the modem, since others
> who responded to your note did mention it. The modem that ships with the
> Linux model is a Lucent win-modem. We have included a later driver than
> what is presently floating around the web. Over the last few months, Lucent
> has spent much time re-vamping their Linux driver, including isolating the
> Linux-specific portion from the core modem logic. This allows Lucent to
> provide the source code to the Linux-specific piece (which contains no
> intellectual property) and release the core logic (which has intellectual
> property) in object form. The package includes a make file that compiles
> the Linux-specific piece against the user's kernel, and then binds it to
> the core logic piece. In theory, this allows the modem to be compile
> against any kernel, and it gives hackers some code they can look if
> something goes wrong. In the preload, we've included the complete package,
> which includes the source code for the Linux-specific piece.
> 
> I hope this helps you in your decision making.
> 
> -- Keith
> 
> Keith Frechette
> Linux Development Lead, Mobile Computing Options and Software Development
> IBM Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
> kfrechet@us.ibm.com / 919-543-3761 / TieLine:441-3761
> 
> Please respond to linux-thinkpad@www.bm-soft.com
> 
> To:        linux-thinkpad@www.bm-soft.com
> cc:
> Subject:        [ltp] Linux on the T20
> 
> I'm planning to purchase a T20. Has anyone had good news getting Linux to
> run on the T20?
> 
> I understand that the Savage IX video chipset would requier a patched
> XFree86 server from S3. Do you know if this would eventually be supported
> by the standard XFree86 releases? Or does one have to continually depend
> on S3 for updates? (ie, is S3 open with their chipset information?)
> 
> How about audio? The T20 has a CS4624 which I don't see as a supported
> chipset either in OSS/Free or ALSA.
> 
> Also, is APM properly supported? ie, standby, suspend, hibernate, resume?
> 
> I like to be sure that at least the above works.
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> .lzs
> 
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-- 
Cheers,
Harry

Harry J Mangalam -- (949) 856 2847 -- hjm@ncgr.org || mangalam@home.com
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