[ltp] What to take care of when buying a Lenovo?

[Fredrik Wendt]

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2008-03-08, 22:32 +0100 - Tobi:
> Hello!
> [...]
> Is there anything I should take care of, when buying a Lenovo notebook
> for Linux? Any trouble with specific hardware components, unsupported
> features or missing drivers? Any trouble running a 64-bit Linux?

Hi.

I've came across two old 600E, a X40, a Z61m and now I'm using a T61
(6466-5VG). My fianc=C3=A9 has a Dell D531, I've also used a Fujitsu-Siemen=
s
xxx and a Compaq yyy (all laptops) and I've made one experience that I'd
like to share:

- if it's Intel, it'll probably work out of the box.

Though I feel strongly for free software, I need to make a living, spend
more time with fianc=C3=A9 and family than computers ... Ubuntu has been my
choice for the last two-three years (it's been what I use since 5.04) -
it just works so good out of the box.

Intel graphics has minor issues that can be fixed or lived with. I
recently tried out the alpha-5 release of Ubuntu Hardy and it had compiz
fusion running AND xv for video playback using the intel driver*. (With
Gutsy on this T61 I can't get both to work properly at the same time.
However I did get it to work on the Z61m just by putting the right stuff
in xorg.conf.)

Intel wifi works in Ubuntu. (Hardy uses an open source that worked fine
during the hours I performed my "test", Gutsy uses a closed source
driver that works really nice.)

Suspend to ram works nicely, I use it everyday when I unplug the machine
at home and go to work, and somedays it just sits in my back pack until
I get home.
I've never really used suspend to disk so I can't tell anything about
how well that works.

Using dual screen (monitor for presentations mostly) works fine if
you're ok using the xrandr program (Fn-F7 never really does anything
useful or reliable imho).


I haven't tried running Debian, Kubuntu, Red Hat, OpenSuse, Opensolaris
or anything else. <semi-rant>Windows came pre-installed, it booted up
ok, I used it for one day and it seemed to work just as good as it did
last time I used it, back in 2000-2001. Not much has changed since then
apparently.</semi-rant>

My current T61 and the Z61m I've used on a daily basis (work with JavaEE
for a living). The X40 was also used for work and leisure. They've been
reliable tools and apart from using XV and compiz at the same time,
there have been no issues. It just works.

Getting other hw/laptops to work has always meant "won't run out of the
box" (nvidia, ati, dell-hell) though there obviously are configurations
that work nice (I tend to loose interest after some time).

That's my .02 =E2=82=ACcents. Good luck.

/ Fredrik

* If you plan on using S-VIDEO to show things on a TV, make sure it's a
fairly new TV (not computer, TV!) that supports 60 Hz. The intel driver
doesn't support older 50 Hz TVs and when I asked some time ago, I heard
no-one saying it should be fixed. Instead I started a separate X with
the i810 driver whenever my kid wanted to watch something on the big
screen. (This was on the Z61m. I've got it working on my fianc=C3=A9's D531
as well after some twiddling with aticonfig, but that's another story.)

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