Ultrathin and Ultrabook Linux laptops -- Linux MacBook Air Killers

Student-friendly Lenovo ThinkPad X130e available now for $429

2012-01-27T01:53:00.000-08:00

Dell hits again with XPS 13 Ultrabook

2012-01-14T00:58:00.001-08:00

http://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/direct2dell/b/direct2dell/archive/2012/01/10/dell-xps-13-ultrabook-combines-performance-and-style-with-ultra-portability-xps13.aspx

The Asus U46SV contains a mini pci combo ...

2011-08-11T03:33:00.001-07:00

The Asus U46SV contains a mini pci combo card with both WiFi and Bluetooth. WiFi works out of the box but Bluetooth does not. This is due to the fact that the Bluetooth chip is not detected by the ath3k module, although a patch to the Linux Kernel is on the way. Until that is ready, the following trick will work:

Insert the following line into your /etc/modprobe.d/local.conf file (if it does not exist, create it):

install btusb /sbin/modprobe ath3k
/bin/echo "13d3 3304" >> /sys/bus/usb/drivers/ath3k/new_id
/sbin/modprobe --ignore-install btusb

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Acer Aspire 3951 like MacBook Air, only cheaper...

2011-08-09T07:55:00.001-07:00

Acer Aspire 3951 like MacBook Air, only cheaper:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/09/acers-aspire-3951-leaks-with-macbook-air-like-specs-available/

Acer's Aspire 3951 leaks with MacBook Air-like specs, available in October?

Engadget

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2011-07-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

Samsung Series 3 laptops crop up on Amazon, 12.1-inch model still AWOL

Engadget

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Sony VAIO Z series 2011 includes hybrid graphics option via a docking station

2011-07-13T19:02:00.001-07:00

For the seasoned Linux users, the Sony VAIO Z series has seen 3 updates in the last 3 years, the sony-vaioz-09, sony-vaioz-10, and now the sony-vaioz-11, sporting a docking station with a discrete AMD graphics card:

Sony’s New VAIO Z Series Is Available Now, Lightest 13-inch High Performance Notebook

Sony’s much anticipated VAIO Z Series ultraportable notebooks have arrived. This new VAIO Z Series is touted as the “world’s lightest 13-inch standard voltage PC” and features an ultra slim design that’s thinner and lighter than the MacBook Air while packing in high performance specs with Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors.

The new VAIO Z Series notebook is designed to work in tandem with a Power Media Dock that delivers the power of an AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics card with 1GB VRAM, a slot loading optical drive, one USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, and VGA ports. Thanks to this pairing, the new Z Series is now a half pound lighter than its predecessor and weighs only 2.5 pounds.

The sleek chassis measures just 0.66-inch thin and is made of a combination of aluminum and carbon fiber. It is designed to be fully flat without any protruding ports or unnecessary seams. Battery life is rated for up to 8 hours and can be boosted to 16 hours with the purchase of an optional large-capacity sheet battery that attaches flush on the bottom.

The notebook is equipped with the latest Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors that can be turbo boosted to 3.4GHz and has dual-channel SSD drives with RAID tehcnology. It also sports Intel’s Light Peak port, also known on Apple products as the Thunderbolt port, that promises up to 10Gbps of blazing fast bi-directional data transfer speeds.

Other things to note include the notebook’s 16:9 aspect ratio display that’s available in either 1920×1080 or 1600×900 resolution levels with anti-glare coating. The notebook comes in three colors carbon black, carbon indigo, and premium carbon black. It is available now for pre-orders at Sony’s website and retails starting at around $2000.

Ultrathin Asus U36 with nvidia optimus @ www.engadget.com

2011-06-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

Remember to check-out http://launchpad.net/~hybrid-graphics-linux for Linux nvidia optimus support and http://launchpad.net/~asus-u-series for ASUS U-series in Linux.

ASUS U36 ultraportable laptop now available in UK, £699 for 'world's thinnest standard voltage i5'

The nanometer-coated ASUS U36 is the world's thinnest notebook with standard voltage Intel Core i5 processor

The U36 notebook is the world's thinnest laptop to harness the power of a standard voltage Intel® Core™ i5 processor, giving you the freedom to stay light and connected on the move without compromising on mobile performance.

ASUS Super Hybrid Engine (with the ability to switch off USB 3.0 functionality) combined with NVIDIA graphics and Optimus technology saves power for when it's needed most to deliver an incredible 11.5 hours battery life*.

With an ultra-thin chassis (only 19mm thick) made from lightweight magnesium alloy with nanometer coating, the U36 is not only practical by repelling dirt, water and fingerprint marks, but is a head-turning accessory for even the most fashion-conscious users, both at home and on the go.

Two videos, including a hands-on demonstration of its key features, are available at http://techinstyle.tv/products/the-stunning-u36-ultra-portable-notebook-launches-in-the-uk.

The U36 is priced at £699 inc VAT and is available now in-store and online from Micro Anvika (www.anvika.com/product/asus-u36jc-rx197x-13-3-w7p-4gb-500gb/asu14503) and before the end of June from Comet www.comet.co.uk

Key Features:

* Standard voltage Intel® Core™ i5 processor

* Ultra-thin chassis only 19mm thick and weighing 1.44kg

* Up to 11.5 hours battery life*

* ASUS Super Hybrid Engine with USB 3.0 toggle

* NVIDIA Graphics with Optimus technology

* Magnesium alloy finish with nanometer coating

* 13.3" HD TFT display (1366 x 768)

* 500GB storage

* 802.11 b/g/n wireless

* 5 in 1 card reader

Enjoy maximum power without the burden:

Unlike other ultra-thin notebooks (which use low voltage CPUs to gain cooling and power consumption benefits) the U36 has broken the mould in design innovation by unleashing the superior performance of a standard voltage Intel® Core™ i5 processor from within a delightfully sleek 19mm chassis.

This bold step forward is owed to ASUS's dual heat pipe design, which effectively dissipates heat from the processor without adding any extra bulk – keeping the notebook cool and your bag even lighter.

Up to 11.5 hours battery life for all-day computing:

The U36 notebook integrates ASUS's Super Hybrid Engine technology which intelligently manages energy consumption based on whether you're simply checking emails and browsing the net, or using more power-hungry applications such as video editing or playing games.

The NVIDIA graphics card ensures movies and games are blasted out in crystal clear quality for a smooth, uninterrupted experience, whilst Optimus technology cleverly switches between onboard or discrete graphics without any user intervention, so it won't waste power where it's not needed.

With up to 10 hours battery life* as standard, the U36 also offers the ability to switch off USB 3.0 functionality in order to squeeze an extra 1.5 hours on top for a whopping overall 11.5 hours* battery life and the reassurance that you won't be left in the dark away from home.

Stay on trend with the sleek and soft magnesium alloy finish:

The U36's slender chassis is just 19mm at the thickest point, and is designed using ultra-light magnesium alloy for a truly chic finish that is incredibly lightweight (1.44kg).

What's more, with a soft-touch nanometer coating the U36 is repellent of dirt, fingerprints and even water (no more panic when it starts to drizzle), whilst the seamless chiclet keyboard is easier to clean and prevents the build-up of dust. This thoughtful design helps to keep the laptop looking beautiful even after hours of exposure to every kind of environment from the home to trains or when stowed in hand luggage.

With metallic choices in silver or black, the U36 is bang on-trend this season and the ideal choice for a tech chic style both at home and away.

Pricing and Availability:

Asus UX21 and Linux: I don't want two computers. I want one which is perfect

2011-06-20T03:55:00.001-07:00

The Asus UX21 is in the ultrathin range but with a powerful CPU. It's specs will make the Macbook air like a droopy eyed armless puppy, being way more powerful than your average netbook. And it's not Apple hardware, so will make a great Linux-compatible laptop:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/30/asus-outs-ux21-ultrathin-laptop-with-up-to-core-i7-cpu-video-ha/

We are very hopeful it will have great Linux support, for what we have seen so far from Asus U-series laptop owners.

Powerful Asus U41JF with nvidia optimus in a thin and light design @ www.asus.com

2011-06-15T02:32:00.001-07:00

Here are the specs for the Asus U41JF model, another powerful hybrid-graphics laptop from ASUS:

U41JF

Intel® Core™ i5 Processor

ASUS U41 Series brings power in a thin and light design

Powered by a Super Hybrid Engine-boosted standard voltage Intel® Core™ i3 or i5 processor
Super Hybrid Engine extends battery life to 10 hours for all-day, on-the-go computing
Elegant design that comes in under an inch thick for maximum portability.

Add To Compare List Print

Aspire TimelineX AS3830TG with hybrid graphics @ www.engadget.com

2011-06-06T23:38:00.001-07:00

Acer announces redesigned Aspire TimelineX Series laptops, prices start at $599

By Dana Wollman posted Jun 7th 2011 12:01AM

If Acer's current Aspire TimelineX notebooks look a little too dull for your tastes, have a peek at that industrial-looking number in the picture above. The company just redesigned its line of skinny laptops, and refreshed them with Sandy Bridge processors while it was at it. The 13.1-inch 3830T, 14-inch 4830T, and 15.6-inch 5830T all have that two-tone aluminum design (also available in black), along with USB 3.0, a choice of Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs, and Acer's clear.fi software for sharing media among DLNA devices. The 14- and 15.6-inch versions have onboard optical drives and number pads, and, on select models, you can choose a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT520M or GT540M card. However, the screen resolution is going to be 1366 x 768 regardless of which you pick. The 3830T, 4830T, and 5830T are available now, starting at $799, $699, and $599, respectively, and you can find specs for a handful of models after the break.

Acer Aspire TimelineX 3830T, 4830T, and 5830T

Acer Aspire TimelineX series hands-on

Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3830TG-6431 ($779.99)
_ 2nd Generation Intel Core i5-2410M Processor 2.30GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.90GHz
_ 13.3" HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit display (1366x768 resolution, 16:90 aspect ratio)
_ Mobile Intel HM65 Express Chipset
_ 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066MHz Memory
_ NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM
_ 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
_ 1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam
_ Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
_ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
_ 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
_ Bluetooth 3.0+HS
_ Dolby Advanced Home Theater v4 Audio Enhancement
_ Two Built-in Acer 3DSonic Stereo Speakers
_ High Definition Audio Support
_ 2 - USB 2.0 Ports & 1 - USB 3.0 Port
_ 1 - HDMI Port with HDCP Support
_ VGA Port
_ Multi-Gesture Touchpad
_ Media Control Function Keys
_ 6-cell Li-ion Battery (6000 mAh)
_ Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
_ Microsoft® Office Starter 2010
_ 4.12 lbs. (system unit only)

Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830T-6642 ($699.99)
_ 2nd Generation Intel Core i5-2410M Processor 2.30GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.90GHz
_ 14" HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit display (1366x768 resolution, 16:90 aspect ratio)
_ Mobile Intel HM65 Express Chipset
_ 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066MHz Memory
_ Intel HD Graphics 3000
_ 640GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
_ 8X DVD-super multi double-layer drive
_ 1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam
_ Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
_ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
_ 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
_ Bluetooth 3.0+HS
_ Dolby Advanced Home Theater® v4 Audio Enhancement
_ Two Built-in Acer 3DSonic Stereo Speakers
_ High Definition Audio Support
_ 2 USB 2.0 Ports & 1 - USB 3.0 Port
_ 1 HDMI Port with HDCP Support
_ VGA Port
_ Multi-Gesture Touchpad
_ Dedicated Numeric Keypad
_ Media Control Function Keys
_ 6-cell Li-ion Battery (6000 mAh)
_ Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
_ Microsoft Office Starter 2010
_ 4.88 lbs. (system unit only)

Acer Aspire TimelineX AS5830T-6862 ($599.99)
_ 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2310M Processor 2.1GHz
_ 15.6" HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit display (1366x768 resolution, 16:90 aspect ratio)
_ Mobile Intel HM65 Express Chipset
_ 4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066MHz Memory
_ Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 128 dedicated system memory
_ 640GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
_ 8X DVD-super multi double-layer drive
_ 1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam
_ Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
_ Dolby Advanced Home Theater v4 Audio Enhancement
_ Two Built-in Acer 3DSonic Stereo Speakers
_ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
_ 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
_ Bluetooth 3.0+HS
_ High Definition Audio Support
_ 3 USB 2.0 Ports & 1 - USB 3.0 Port
_ 1 HDMI Port with HDCP Support
_ VGA Port
_ Multi-Gesture Touchpad
_ Dedicated Numeric Keypad
_ Media Control Function Keys
_ 6-cell Li-ion Battery (6000 mAh)
_ Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
_ Microsoft Office Starter 2010
_ 5.6 lbs. (system unit only)

ASUS ultrathin UX21 @ www.engadget.com

2011-05-30T11:08:00.001-07:00

ASUS outs UX21 ultrathin laptop with up to Core i7 CPUs (video hands-on!)

By Vlad Savov posted May 30th 2011 3:59AM

Hands-On

Breaking News

The thickest part of this new laptop is 17mm, its entire body is built from an aluminum alloy (weighs 1.1kg / 2.4lb), and the CPUs can be specced as high as Core i7. Anything else you need to know before drooling all over yourself? How about a two-second resume from sleep, thanks to ASUS' proprietary software, a SATA III SSD, USB 3.0 connectivity, and the ability to hybernate for up to one week? The trackpad is made out of glass, while the keyboard keys are all metal. ASUS projects the launch of its shiny new UX21 in September, and you can see more of it in the gallery below or video after the break.

ASUS UX21 hands-on

ASUS UX Series ultraportable notebooks

Show full PR text

631

Sony Vaio SA ultraportable @ www.engadget.com

2011-05-28T06:03:00.001-07:00

Sony announces VAIO SA series ultraportable, puts VAIO F series up for pre-order

Having trouble keeping Sony's slim VAIO S series laptops straight? It's okay, we are, too, especially now that the company's officially unveiled the SA series, a 13.3-inch ultraportable that's poised to go toe to toe with the skinnyLenovo ThinkPad X1. Although it's got almost the same magnesium-and-alloy chassis as the VAIO SB series we saw at CES, the SA is a hair thinner, at 0.95 inches, and comes standard with AMD Radeon HD 6630 graphics and 1GB of video memory, 1600 x 900 resolution, a 500GB hard drive, fingerprint reader, and a Blu-ray drive. You can also trick it out with a dual channel solid-state drive, which promises to help let you work up to 16 hours unplugged if you combine it with a $100 sheet battery. If you fork out a minimum of $1,650, you can snag one with an SSD.

If the SA's $1,350 starting price is more than you're willing to spend, there's still the SB series, though the $969 base model naturally has less impressive specs, including 512MB of video memory, 1366 x 768 resolution, a DVD player, and a Core i5 -- not Core i7 -- processor. For what its worth, its color options now include pink and navy, if that floats your boat more than the high-end SA's black, silver, and brown palette.

In other news, Sony's also taking orders for the VAIO F Series, which comes in two flavors: one with a 16-inch 3D display with a 2D-to-3D conversion button, starting at $1,659, and a 16.4-inch 2D model with a more modest $1,100 base price. But if you want a 2D display with 1080p resolution and a Blu-ray drive, you can expect to pay at least $1,169. Both these and the SA series are up for pre-order today, with gussied-up photos below and full PR and past the break.

Sony VAIO SA series

Sony VAIO F series

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 @ www.youtube.com

2011-05-11T09:08:00.001-07:00

Samsung SF310 with nvidia optimus @ www.pcmag.com

2011-05-11T01:53:00.001-07:00

Samsung SF310 Review & Rating | PCMag.com

product 0.3

May 10, 2011

Samsung SF310

editor rating good
Write a
Review

VIEW SLIDESHOW

Pros
Intel Core i5-480M processor. Nvidia GeForce 310M graphics with automatic switching. Lots of extra features, like Bluetooth 3.0, Sleep-and-Charge, and quick restarts. Good battery life.
Cons
Covered ports are less accessible. Wimpy speakers. Middling performance. Internal battery can't be accessed or replaced by buyer. Small hard drive.
Bottom Line
Some buyers will be intrigued by features like Bluetooth 3.0, Sleep-and-Charge funcationality, and quick restarts, but more discerning buyers may shun the Samsung SF310 for its underutilized components and small hard drive.

Optimus on Linux with Bumblebee -- using both your intel and nvidia with 3D acceleration

2011-05-09T03:26:00.001-07:00

Optimus on Linux Problem Solved | Martin Juhl's Blog

One of our Linux hybrid-graphics team members has found a neat trick to enable both the integrated (Intel) and discrete (Nvidia) graphics cards in Linux using a VirtualGL. As it works in version 0.2, the Intel card is running the Desktop interface and the nvidia card can be used to offload specific applications with the command "optirun32 <application>" or "optirun64 <application>" depending if you use 32bit or 64bit code.

There is still no load balancer to automatically decide which applications should run on which card, and the nvidia card is constantly running, but bumblebee now enables the discrete graphics card for hybrid laptops running Linux, even for those models with no mux to switch the card in the BIOS menu.

For more info:

https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee/blob/master/README

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 slim to the extreme @ www.engadget.com

2011-05-07T02:54:00.001-07:00

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 spotted in the wild -- Engadget

By Donald Melanson posted May 6th 2011 1:06PM

We've already seen it pictured and detailed, but Chinese website Mydrivers.com has now scored what appear to be the very first in-the-wild shots of Lenovo's new super-slim ThinkPad X1. As you can see above and in a few more shots at the source link below, the laptop is indeed pretty thin -- 21.5mm, or 0.85 inches thick, apparently -- but Lenovo still found room to squeeze in a backlit keyboard (check it out after the break), not to mention the ThinkPad's trademark pointing stick. Unfortunately, Lenovo has yet to officially say anything about it itself, so we still only have that rumored May 20th launch date to go on for the time being.

[Thanks, leungxd]

Cloned in China

Mydrivers.com

HP Pavilion dm4x @ www.engadget.com

2011-05-04T16:32:00.001-07:00

HP Pavilion dm4x with Sandy Bridge goes on sale, starts at $730 -- Engadget

Those Sandy Bridge refreshes just keep on coming. Today, it's HP's turn, whose 14-inch Pavilion dm4 (which we reviewed last year) now comes standard with a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M CPU. Curiously, it's now the dm4x -- a suffix you don't usually see on HP notebooks. For that $730 starting price, you'll also get Radeon HD 6470M graphics with 1GB of memory, 6GB of RAM, a 640GB 5,400RPM hard drive, and a six-cell battery. If money's no object, you can trick yours out with a 2.7GHz Core i7-2620M processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 750GB 7,200RPM HDD. Oh, and for $25 you can opt for a "dark umber" color instead of "steel grey" (pictured). Not too shabby, but we just hope HP also fixed that wonky touchpad.

Asus bamboo upgraded to Sandy Bridge @ www.engadget.com

2011-04-20T11:48:00.001-07:00

This laptop comes with an Nvidia Optimus configuration: Integrated Intel® GMA HD and
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 520M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM.

ASUS' bamboo-plated U43SD laptop graduates to Sandy Bridge, so does plain-jane U41SV -- Engadget

When we reviewed ASUS' first bamboo laptop, we raved about more than just its unconventional looks -- we were also impressed with its solid performance. So we're pleased, although not at all surprised, that ASUS is refreshing the line with Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors. The U43SD doesn't appear to stray from its predecessor's industrial design (save for its bigger 14-inch screen), but it steps up to the latest Core i3 and Core i5 processors, along with NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M graphics with 1GB of video memory. You can also choose from 5,400RPM and 7,200RPM hard drive options and either a six- or eight-cell battery. While the company was at it, it also quietly unveiled another Sandy Bridge laptop, the U41SV, which offers the same configuration options as the U43SD -- and a plainer design. No word on pricing, and a cursory search turned up no availability. For now, though, you can have a gander at some official photos lifted from ASUS' own product pages.

ASUS U43SD

ASUS U41SV

Asus U36JC review @ www.techradar.com

2011-04-18T05:25:00.001-07:00

Here is the review for another ultraportable hybrid graphics laptop with Nvidia Optimus configuration. The ACPI has a switch off method (\_SB.PCI0.PEG1.GFX0.DOFF), see the Launchpad mailing list for more details.

Asus U36JC-RX197X review from TechRadar UK's expert reviews of Laptops and netbooks

Asus has continued building its popular ultra-portable laptop line with its U36JC-RX197X. Blending fantastic design with impressive power and portability isn't an easy task, but Asus has done it with aplomb, making this a fantastic option for those after non-compromised portability.

Weighing in at 1.6kg, this light machine is a pleasure to carry around all day. The 395-minute battery life is also impressive, narrowly beating the HP Pavilion dm4, and will keep you productive on the road for over six hours.

The chassis boasts excellent build quality, with everything from the lid to the panels offering barely any flex under pressure. This makes it suited to life on the move and provides great protection for the internal components. The unusual matt-black finish hides dirt and smudges well, but also looks and feels fantastic.

Great keyboard

The excellent build quality extends to the keyboard, which, similar to the Lenovo IdeaPad Z560, provides easy typing action. We worked with office documents for hours on end with the Asus U36JC, and found the keyboard to be firm and intuitive to use. An impressive feat, considering the diminutive size of the chassis.

The 13.3-inch screen features a 1366 x 768-pixel resolution, and images are sharp and detailed. We noticed a yellow tint to the panel, however, which means photos and films don't look their best. But as this laptop is designed primarily for the business market, rather than creative industries that need precise colour reproduction, this shouldn't be an issue.

Asus has managed to cram a powerful Intel 2.66GHz Core i5 480M processor and 4096MB of RAM into the tiny chassis, and the result is an impressive performance – especially considering the diminutive form factor. You'll be able to smoothly multitask any number of applications, so the Asus U36JC laptop is ideally suited for those who need great performance and portability.

The same can be said for the Nvidia GeForce 310M graphics chip, which features Optimus technology. Although this ultra-portable laptop doesn't provide the level of performance of the Samsung P580 or Acer Aspire 7741G, those looking to edit photos and even HD video are catered for.

Benchmarks:

Battery life: 395 minutes
MobileMark 2007: 252
3DMark 2003: 9771

A host of decent features include Asus' ExpressGate software, a quick-booting operating system for viewing the web and your emails, as well as USB 3.0, which is great for transferring high quantities of data to a compatible external hard drive.

We immensely enjoyed our time with the Asus U36JC and, while it won't suit those after a big-screen laptop, for regular travellers seeking power, style and mobility, it's outstanding.

Follow TechRadar Reviews on Twitter: http://twitter.com/techradarreview

Samsung SF310 with Nvidia Optimus @ www.laptopmag.com

2011-04-13T11:36:00.001-07:00

Here is a review of a beautiful 13.3 laptop with Nvidia Optimus:

Samsung SF310 Review - A Review of the Samsung SF310

Matthew Garrett: making laptops work with Linux

2011-02-13T11:08:00.001-08:00

One of the difficulties in getting Linux to perfectly work on laptops is that there is a lot of legacy from the Windows world in OS - BIOS interaction with APM, then ACPI, then WMI. People like Matthew Garrett are doing a great job in playing catch-up:

http://linuxconfau.blip.tv/file/4719842/

More ultrathin hybrid graphics laptops: Asus U31JG

2010-11-26T07:19:00.001-08:00

Asus U31 13.3-inch ultrathin comes soon

The Asus U31 features some quite impressive specs for an ultrathin and we are looking at a 13.3-inch 1366x768 LED backlit screen, Intel's Core i3-370M/380M or Core i5-460M CPU, up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, up to 500GB of HDD space, 802.11bgn WiFi, and a 6-cell battery,

The Asus U31 will be available in two versions, the U31F and U31JG. The difference is the graphics card as the U31F features Intel's GMA 4500M while the U31JG will come with Nvidia's DirectX 11 ready, Geforce GT 415M with 1GB of memory. The U31JG will of course feautre Nvidia's Optimus technology for automatic GPU switching, something that we talked about for a couple of times.

As noted, the new U31 should appear in Europe by the end of December with a retail/e-tail price starting at €799.

You can find more here.

Howto Sony vaio VPCZ13 Linux hybrid graphics

2010-10-26T06:09:00.001-07:00

One of the sony-vaio-z-series launchpad team members has reported the way to successfully switch on/off the nvidia card in VPCZ13 models:

Re: [Sony-vaio-z-series] Ubuntu on VPCZ13*

- Adam's kernel 2.6.36.0

- Installed sony-laptop-zseries-0.9np7

- Grub load options: "i8042.reset i8042.nomux i8042.nopnp i8042.noloop acpi_osi=\"!Windows 2006\" acpi_backlight=vendor"

Linux on Sony Vaio BPCZ11X9 -- Intel graphics card

2010-10-25T01:55:00.001-07:00

As reported by one of the sony-vaio-z-series launchpad team members:

[Sony-vaio-z-series] Important notice VPCZ11X9 intel working

This laptop will not find the Intel graphics card due to the "nomoeset" parameters given by grub.

These need removing in the menu.lst if you want the intel graphic card to work.

Keep the "i8042.nopnp i8042.nomux i8042.nopnp i8042.noloop " parameters for the keyboard/touchpad.

Asus U33JC model review @ www.washingtonpost.com

2010-10-13T02:15:00.001-07:00

Asus U33Jc: An Elegant, Eco-Friendly Blend of Form and Function

The Washington post reviews the Asus U33JC model.

Linux on an Asus U35JC review @ www.linuxuser.co.uk

2010-10-11T05:37:00.001-07:00

Asus U35JC review | Linux User

A versatile 13-inch notebook with a surprising amount of power under the hood and a dual-boot instant-on solution that turned out to be more useful than expected…

This article originally appeared in issue 92 of Linux User & Developer magazine. Subscribe and save more than 30% and receive our exclusive money back guarantee – click here to find out more.

Details:
OS Tested: Ubuntu 10.04.1
Processor: Intel Core i3-370M (2.4GHz)
GPU: Nvidia Optimus: NV G310M / Intel GMA 4500MHD
Memory: 4GB RAM DDR3
Storage: 320GB (5400rpm) SATA II
Dimensions:322 x 233 x 148~246mm
Weight: 1.9 kg
Display size: 13.3” (1366 x 768)
Connectivity: Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit LAN, 0.3MP webcam, HDMI, 3x USB 2.0
Expansion: 5-in-1 card reader
Price: £699 / $825
Where to buy: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Pros: The specification on offer is one of the most impressive you’ll see in the 13” notebook market
Cons: Nvidia Optimus is proving problematic at the moment. The keyboard and screen aren’t quite up to scratch either

Though the U35JC ships with Windows by default, there are so few computer manufacturers that actually ship Linux-equipped hardware that sometimes it’s impossible to ignore interesting configurations whenever they turn up, regardless of ‘the Microsoft tax’.

And the U35JC is certainly an interesting proposition. Sitting in the ‘versatile’ section of Asus’s massive notebook range, its 13” dimensions hide an impressive amount of power courtesy of a 2.4GHz Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB of bandwidth-rich DDR3 RAM.

Weighing in at just under two kilograms, it’s not the slimmest or lightest 13” offering available at the moment, but the specification more than justifies it. If anything, its physical weight belies an otherwise lissom look and feel – we certainly wouldn’t be deterred from using it as a travelling companion, for example.

Not only does it boast a particularly flavoursome combination of 13” dimensions, Intel Core i3 hardware and an affordable price point of £699, but it also comes pre-installed with an instant-on operating system. Splashtop, based on Monolithic Linux, is capable of whisking a user to their online homepage in little over ten seconds. Though a commercial (thus proprietary) enterprise, Asus Express Gate 2.0 nevertheless is a very impressive implementation of the instant-on market Canonical’s Mark Shuttleworth is working keenly to penetrate with an Ubuntu variant based on the Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Beta reviewed here.

It’s easy to see why Shuttleworth holds the dual-boot market in such high regard too – Asus’s Monolith derivative booted in around eight seconds and we had a web browser open and usable within another four seconds. Instead of selecting the instant-on OS from a boot menu (which would completely hamstring its boot speed), the U35JC has a dedicated power button all of its own, just above the Escape key, opposite the actual power button.

Though far from pretty with its limited resolution and (what appeared to be) a 16-bit colour palette, Express Gate’s Apple-style dock launcher is certainly visually accomplished and user-friendly. Users can select to browse the web, listen to music, play games, chat via instant messaging and even view pictures and create albums.

A small document editor would have been the icing on the cake, but since there is no shortage of web solutions available it’s not a major issue. When you consider the U35JC’s eight-cell battery is more than capable of just over four and a half hours from within a full-blown distro such as Ubuntu 10.04 (with heavy use or around seven hours with light load), the battery life via Express Gate is likely more than enough to keep users surfing and blogging well into the night.

Asus hasn’t got everything right though. For example, the screen has a reflective coating that can cause havoc in brightly lit locations, and lacklustre viewing angles further exacerbate the issue. In the interest of fairness, it’s no worse than some alternatives on the market, but an issue Asus should have anticipated nonetheless.

A second bugbear made itself known as soon as we started typing our first URL. We’re not personally fans of spaced tile keys at the best of times, but we found the U35JC’s demonstrated exaggerated flexure across the entire board during use – in the end we checked to see if the keyboard tray was somehow knocked lose during delivery.

As it transpired the keyboard tray was perfectly secure, but very loose fitting. Hardly an ideal situation.
Speaking of which, our final problem comes courtesy of the Nvidia Optimus dual-GPU setup. Optimus (which is designed to automatically switch between low-power onboard graphics and a powerful 3D discrete offering on demand) simply doesn’t work in a Linux environment at the moment. Though much work is being done to remedy the situation as we speak, we don’t recommend installing a dedicated Nvidia driver for the time-being. That said, the Intel GMA 4500MHD is more than capable enough, provided you don’t intend to work in 3D.

Verdict: 4/5
We were impressed with the price-to-performance ratio Asus has achieved with the U35JC. Its slender lines and small dimensions are all the more impressive considering the power that lies within. Though some of this power is dormant due to the Nvidia Optimus debacle, this should not dissuade Linux users from considering it – a solution is likely right around the corner.

You can find more reviews from Linux User & Developer here, but don’t forget to see what else features in the latest issue…

Linux Best Seller laptops website continues growing

2010-10-09T09:01:00.001-07:00

Linux Best Seller Laptops

After more than a year since it's creation, the http://linux-best-seller-laptops.blogspot.com/ website has compiled information for many best seller laptop launchpad teams.

Right now, the HP G-series Launchpad team has more than 60 members, followed by the HP Envy series and the Lenovo G-series teams. Other teams in this linux best seller laptops website are the Sony Vaio E-series, the ASUS N-series and the Lenovo IdeaPad U-series, all of them with over ten team members and growing.

Samsung QX310 Review

2010-09-24T09:52:00.001-07:00

Samsung QX310 Reviews

The Samsung QX310 is powered by an Intel® Core™ i5 processor (i5-460M)
and runs Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit operating system. It is
supports by 4GB DDR3 of memory, supports up to 640GB of storage space, a
13-inch HD LED backlit display that supports 1366 x 768 pixel resolution,
Hybrid Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 310M w/ 512MB dedicated RAM graphics card,
two 1.5W stereo speakers, 802.11 b/g/n and WiMax support, a 4-in-1 media
reader and True2Sound™ SRS Premium Sound™. The QX310 also features a
DVD Super Multi DL, and is powered by a lithium polymer battery that
provides up to 7 hours of battery life.

Features

The Samsung QX310 is a 13.3-inch notebook that is designed in a 27 mm thick
form factor and weighs 1.99kg. It sports an aluminum LCD back and
edge-to-edge LCD display, side doors to hide a variety of connection ports,
and is powered by lithium-polymer battery that gives 6.9 hours of battery
life. It features a light-weight aluminum design and sports a 13-inch HD
SuperBright LED display, multi-function gesture pad with multi-finger
interface commands, is powered by Intel Core™ i5 processor and hybrid
graphics system which is optimized on-the-go based on users’ needs. The
NVIDIA Optimus™ automatically switches between the onboard Intel graphics
and NVIDIA discrete graphics which manage battery life for basic
applications, and deliver high-quality performance for intensive activities
like gaming and multimedia on-demand.

In the battle for Ultrathin Linux laptops, who is king?

2010-09-10T05:13:00.001-07:00

Almost two years ago, we started compiling information for Ultrathin Linux laptops from the Launchpad website.

After all this time, different Launchpad teams got organized, shared useful information to get their laptop models to fully work under Linux and triggered the development for new drivers and userland tools in the Linux project.

But in the battle for Ultrathin Linux laptops, who is king?

The header in this blog page says Sony is dominating the chart with more than 280 registered Launchpad team members (20100910), but it's being followed very closely by ASUS and Acer. The almighty HP and Dell aren't summing up to large numbers, even when putting together the different teams that can be described under ultrathin models.

So what is making people decide for Sony, ASUS and Acer when going for a ultrathin Linux laptop purchase?

Sony seems to be filling the high-end market with lots of models around the $2000 mark. ASUS and Acer, on the other side, are the favourite for inexpensive ultrathin laptop models, and they are difficult to pick apart when reading the reviews and comments the Linux userbase is posting on forums and mailing lists.

The usual animosity against the big dogs, which in this case could be HP and Dell, could explain why they aren't doing better in this sector. Sony, with all the battering it's getting for its high prices, is still considered the best of the big dogs.

We will keep following the developments on this front. One sure thing is that the Ultrathin Linux laptops userbase keeps growing, even outside the academy base.

Samsung Ultrathin Q-series @ thinkcrack.com

2010-09-08T01:16:00.001-07:00

Samsung launches the hunt for the MacBook with its QX series [IFA 2010]. | Thinkcrack

Samsung has done it again. After revolutionizing the blogs of half
the world during the last week with the launch of its Galaxy Tab, is
directing his fire at Apple. Do not believe me? Then wait and see what
we have prepared the Koreans with new QX series models that have been
announced at the IFA 2010.

Do not you design something that sounds? Indeed, the resemblance to
the MacBook is evident. In fact, I would say that there is nothing like
casual, like it is no coincidence that the presentation to society
Galaxy Tab produce while the announcement of the Apple keynote last
week. That yes, the aluminum finish of the case is really attractive.
And if you liked the design, characteristics of the QX series are not
far behind.

The three new models in the series QX (QX310, QX410 and QX510) all
come equipped with Intel Core i5, but is not clear at what speed.
Regarding memory, hard drives included S-ATA 250 GB and 640 GB,
depending on the model, and mounted a minimum of 4 GB of RAM, can reach
up to 8 GB in the case of QX510.

The screen is made of LED technology and will play video at 720p,
which is surprising not because of the other features of these laptops.
The key may be in the graphics system, designed so that to save
battery power, using the integrated Intel graphics chip on the
motherboard, while for most operations that require moving graphics
will use a nVidia GeForce 310M (or 410mm in the QX410 and QX510).

Howto Linux Asus U35JC hybrid graphics

2010-08-27T06:16:00.001-07:00

Linux Hybrid Graphics: Using acpi_call module to switch on/off discrete graphics card in Linux

Asus U35JC-RX005X with ubuntu lucid lynx:
echo '\_SB.PCI0.PEG1.GFX0._OFF' > /proc/acpi/call

The battery using rate decrease from 4200mW :

echo '\_SB.PCI0.PEG1.GFX0._ON' > /proc/acpi/call
grep rate /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state
present rate: 17808 mW
echo '\_SB.PCI0.PEG1.GFX0._OFF' > /proc/acpi/call
grep rate /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state
present rate: 13664 mW

Everything else worked fine under Ubuntu for this computer.

Asus U/UL series nvidia hybrid graphics and BIOS version

2010-08-25T07:41:00.001-07:00

It's been reported that some of the issues with switching the nvidia card on/off the Asus U/UL series in Linux are problematic due to the BIOS version. In one case, updating from 203 to 210 solved the problem. Happy Linuxing...

A Sony Vaio Z-series Linux HOWTO

2010-08-15T18:33:00.001-07:00

http://www.voip-x.co.uk/files/adam/IMPORTANT_README

HOWTO Sony Vaio Z Series (2010) and Ubuntu Maverick alpha-3

2010-08-13T00:24:00.001-07:00

Re: [Sony-vaio-z-series] vpcz12 and maverick alpha-3

On Thursday 12 August 2010 15:49:06 Justin Karneges wrote:
> I tried booting from the latest Ubuntu alpha live CD.  The initial menu
> sometimes appears, where you can choose to install or do a memory test,
> etc. However, more often than not it doesn't appear and a timeout will
> cause the system to go on ahead with booting the live desktop.

It seems if I press an F-key (e.g. F1, F2, or F3, etc), I can get the menu to 
appear most of the time.  There have been a couple of occasions when this 
doesn't work but the majority of the time it does work.  It might be a timing 
thing.  I think you have to press a key rather quickly.

> The initial menu has the wrong colors (pink-ish), as well as X once it
> loads.  Under X, the color distortion is more severe.

If I press F6 and add xforcevesa and nomodeset to the end of the kernel 
parameters string (so that the string ends looking like "-- xforcevesa 
nomodeset"), color is fixed in X.  I'm not sure if the "i915.modeset=0" 
option suggested by Martin has any effect.  It doesn't seem to for me.

However, X resolution remains incorrect (1024x768, stretched to 1600x900, 
looks pretty terrible!).  Also, I still can't say for sure if the physical 
graphics switch does *anything*.  I get the exact same results whether it is 
set to speed or stamina at cold boot.  I have a feeling this means that I'm 
using the same card every time, no matter what I have selected with the 
physical switch.  At least, this feels more likely to me than both cards 
having the exact same color distortions with the exact same kernel params 
fix.  I wonder which card it is using?

> Once X loads, the touchpad does not work.

Solved by adding the i8042.nopnp kernel param.  I don't know if the touchpad 
is getting used in its full capacity but it seems to work well enough, and I 
can even slide along the side for a wheel effect.

> I can flip over to the VTs and back to X no problem.  The VTs have the wrong
> colors but otherwise seem to work fine.

Once the desktop loads, using the above fixes for X, the VTs have the correct 
colors.

> I tried suspending (via keyboard in X, mostly blindly) and the system
> appeared to go into suspend, but on wakeup I was greeted with a blank
> screen.

Maybe this was a graphics issue.  With the above fixes for X, suspend and wake 
now works.  Strange behavior I noticed: when X restores after waking, the 
screen is no longer stretched, and instead the 1024x768 desktop is centered 
1:1 in the middle of the display.  Flipping to a VT and back to X will cause 
the stretching to restore.

Now that I can actually use the computer, I'll note that wifi also works.

> So that's the current "out of the box" experience with bleeding edge
> Ubuntu.

And just three added kernel parameters later, a usable Live CD experience!  
Not too shabby.

Acer Timeline 3810T down to 5.8W with Linux

2010-08-10T13:14:00.001-07:00

[ubuntu] Acer Timeline 3810T - Page 90 - Ubuntu Forums

Re: Acer Timeline 3810T
I just found another 1.2W of power saving trick in my 3810T, bringing my minimum power usage down from 7.0W to 5.8W.

Powertop used to show the Intel graphics chip as generating 60 interrupts/second:
51,3% ( 60,0) [i915@pci:0000:00:02.0]
But if I do a Suspend-to-RAM (Fn-F4) and wake it up again the 60Hz interrupt from i915 disappears and my power usage drops 1.2 Watts.

Now, the odd thing is that if I start a new instance of Powertop the 60Hz i915 interrupts returns and power usage goes up by 1.2W again. It seems that Powertop is probing the hardware and triggering the i915 60Hz interrupt.
The i915 interrupts is described on Powertop's homepage http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/powertop/known.php#intelgfx but the documented fix (setting "NoDRI" in xorg.conf) doesn't seem to do anything.

My 3810T is configured as follows:
Ubuntu 10.04 with kernel 2.6.32-24 and backports for wireless and alsa.
Compiz configured to minimum bells and whistles.
Core2 Solo CPU U3500@1.40GHz; Harddisk replaced with Intel SSD.
Fan disabled by disconnecting it from the motherboard. (I'm running a temperature monitor that will hibernate the laptop if it reaches 75°C).

How to fix flash related lock-up problems in Asus UL30vt models

2010-07-28T02:22:00.001-07:00

Re: [Asus-ul30] UL30vt and freezing Xorg

Installing the newer mainline kernels (2.6.35rc5+) will fix lock-up problems in the UL40vt models:
http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/

Also, one of the users has been using a newer kernel (installed from the guiodic repo) on a ul30a and reports this has fixed his flash-induced system freezes:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=9328344&postcount=110

A wiki page for the Asus UL30Vt on Linux

2010-06-17T23:17:00.001-07:00

http://wiki.daviddarts.com/Ubuntu_Lucid_on_the_Asus_UL30VT

best-intel PPA for improved Linux Intel graphics

2010-06-16T03:01:00.001-07:00

One of the Launchpad members has produced a PPA for improved performance with Intel graphic cards, which should be of benefit for people using Asus U/UL Series laptops, Acer Timeline/TimelineX, Sony Vaio Z-series09 and 10 laptops, Dell Adamo, Dell Latitude E-series, Dell Vostro Thin series, HP dm3 series and Toshiba T100/T115/T135 series laptops, as well as Sony Vaio Y-series and certain HP Envy series models.
best-intel : Guiodic (Guido Iodice)

Packages in order to have better performance with Intel graphic cards.

Install the latest kernel in this ppa and upgrade intel driver and mesa.

Brightness control Asus UL30Vt

2010-06-13T08:48:00.001-07:00

http://iruel430.blogspot.com/2010/05/brightness-key-asus-ul30vt.html

Acer Timeline/TimelineX Launchpad Linux team reaches 200 members

2010-06-12T07:44:00.001-07:00

The Acer Timeline/TimelineX Launchpad Linux team has now reached the landmark of 200 registered team members. This team started about a year ago to cover the needs of Linux users for the Acer Timeline series of laptops, including the 3810T, 3810TG, 4810T, 4810TG, 5810T, 5810TG, 5820TG, Acer TravelMate 8371, 8471, etc, and recently also the TimelineX Linux users, including the 3820TG and 4820TG models.

Over the last year, the active and engaged community of Linux users in this team has brought up the level of compatibility with new modules, like the hybrid graphics cold switch module. This module has recently been reported to work for one of the latest models, the Acer Timeline 3820TG. We expect the numbers to keep increasing once the latest round of models reaches worldwide distribution. Only the Sony Vaio Z-series Launchpad Linux team has more registered users, and the Acer Timeline/TimelineX team is quickly catching up.

Linux Toshiba T135 (T100 Series) Headphone Jack howto

2010-06-12T02:00:00.001-07:00

options snd-hda-intel model="olpc-xo-1_5"

to:

/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

Sony Vaio Z11 Kubuntu with Nvidia card working

2010-06-03T02:04:00.001-07:00

Reposting from the sony-vaio-z-series Launchpad Linux mailing list:
[Sony-vaio-z-series] VPCZ1190X Speed mode install working! (So far)

Following thunderbee's recent invaluable guide, I was able to get
Kubuntu 10.4 installed on the VPCZ1190X.

As expected, I have to boot an older kernel each time to get the speed
switch set, and I used the xorg.conf file at the end of the document
(works great!)

A couple points of note (quite obvious to most linux users, but still
useful toward the intended goal of creating a guide for the 'new' linux
user:

for the commands:
wget -nd <a rel="nofollow" href="http://kernel.ubuntu.com/%7Ekernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid">http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid</a>
/linux-image-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb
wget -nd <a rel="nofollow" href="http://kernel.ubuntu.com/%7Ekernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid">http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid</a>
/linux-headers-2.6.34-020634_2.6.34-020634_all.deb
wget -nd <a rel="nofollow" href="http://kernel.ubuntu.com/%7Ekernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid">http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.34-lucid</a>
/linux-headers-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb
dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb linux-
headers-2.6.34-020634_2.6.34-020634_all.deb linux-
headers-2.6.34-020634-generic_2.6.34-020634_i386.deb

in the guide, replace all instances of 'i386' with your processor
architecture ('amd64' for mine, and I think most new Z series laptops,
or any 64 bit processor)

if you are sshing into the computer to install Kubuntu as recommended,
remember that you'll have to login as the main system account (not root
like in the recovery console), and use 'sudo' before most commands.
Remember to either make a strong password or disable ssh password
authentication after you're done installing Kubuntu and have a GUI.

if you need to copy/paste the xorg.conf file from the guide (i.e. you
don't have one from a previous install), you'll also need to get a
commandline text editor - vim works:
copy file text, then in terminal (minus the 's)
'sudo apt-get install vim'
'sudo vim /etc/X11/xorg.conf'
'i' #enter text insert mode
#(paste text)
'esc' #back to command mode
':wq' #save and quit

I now have Kubuntu working fine with the nVidia card!

Fedora 12 ASUS UL50Ag report

2010-06-02T05:56:00.001-07:00

Reposting an installation report for Linux Fedora 12 on an ASUS UL50Ag laptop (with no nvidia card):
Re: [Asus-ul30] UL50VT

I have an UL50Ag running Fedora 12. The battery life is usually between 6-7 hours (powertop squeezes out maybe another hour), using wifi, highest brightness and all. The function keys are all working, except the brightness control. I managed to 'unflip' the camera in skype with the workaround suggested on this list. Microphone doesn't seem to be working, but I haven't rechecked in some time now.

I've already seen some improvement with recent kernels (power-management wasn't working initially), so I'm confident that the other stuff will also be resolved soon :)

Skype for Linux on Asus U/UL Series using Lucid 64-bit

2010-05-30T07:03:00.001-07:00

Reposting from the Asus U/UL Series Linux Launchpad team on how to set up the webcam and skype:

Re: [Asus-ul30] Asus UL30Jt

I'm running Lucid 64-bit on the UL30VT (BIOS 210) - here's how I set
up skype. Note that this works with both the stock kernel
2.6.32-22-generic and also with 2.6.34-rc7. I've also tested it using
both the intel and nvidia cards.

1. Download and install Skype for Linux Beta
<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/post-download/">http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/post-download/</a>

2. Add the 4l2ucp package (not sure this is necessary)

sudo apt-get install v4l2ucp

3. Add the libv4l-PPA, update package lists and install libv4l-0

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libv4l

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install libv4l-0

4. Create shell-script to start Skype by opening the gedit Text Editor
and pasting the following inside:

#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l2convert.so skype

5. Save the file as "skype.sh" and give it executing rights with:

sudo chmod +x skype.sh

6. Start Skype by double-clicking on the script and selecting "run"

And that's it. I borrowed most of these instructions from
<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.mail-archive.com/asus-ul30@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/msg00073.html">http://www.mail-archive.com/asus-ul30@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/msg00073.html</a>

First Linux installation report for most awaited ASUS UL30JT

2010-05-29T03:10:00.001-07:00

Reposting from the Asus U/UL series Linux launchpad team mailing list:
Re: [Asus-ul30] Asus UL30Jt

I have run Ubuntu 10.04 on my UL30JT, and everything works well except:
* The webcam shows the picture upside-down in skype
* The Nvidia video card is not fully powered-down so the battery time is 3 -4 hours only, compared to 6 - 7 for windows.
There might be fixes for these two issues, since they have been discussed in other forums. Screen brightness, wifi, sound and bluetooth works very well though, without any specific patches. I have not tried the HDMI connector so there might still be problems lurking ...

Linux Intel core i5/i7 GNOME frequency applet with Turbo mode

2010-05-26T07:49:00.001-07:00

Reposting from the sony-vaio-z-series mailing list. The applet tar.gz is available here:
[Sony-vaio-z-series] core i5 / i7 display frequency applet

Hi everybody

you might have noticed that the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor 2.30.0 applet of gnome

doesn't show the real freq of the processor when in turbo mode...

i have written a gnome applet to print the current speed of the cpu (using the msr module and a c code form intel

however take care with the cpu Frequency Scaling Monitor as it control only one processor

(I now have 4 applets of Frequency Scaling Monitor, one per logical core))
because at first i though it wasn't working, but it is :)

HP Envy 15 core i7 -- Linux current bug reports

2010-05-23T03:33:00.001-07:00

HP Envy series in Launchpad

HP Envy 15 reported bugs:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/463959
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/463940?comments=all
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/582690
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/582688
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gpointing-device-settings/+bug/582687
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/582809
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/582690
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/557072

HP Envy 15 core i7 Linux - Howto resume after suspend

2010-05-23T03:29:00.001-07:00

Bug #557072 in linux (Ubuntu): “system does not power off”

The following script works for me (saved as /etc/pm/sleep.d/5_quick-fix-drivers)
NB: The atl1c module is there because otherwise the ethernet controller didn't work after a resume. Remove it from the list if you aren't experiencing that problem.

-----
#!/bin/sh

PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin

MODS="xhci_hcd atl1c"

case "${1}" in
suspend|hibernate)
for m in $MODS
do
modprobe -r $m
done
;;
resume|thaw)
for m in $MODS
do
modprobe $m
done
;;
esac

An Installation HOWTO for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx on Sony Vaio VPCZ11X9E

2010-05-19T01:14:00.001-07:00

Ubuntu 10.4 Lucid Lynx on Sony Vaio VPCZ11X9E - Frederik Questier

Installing Ubuntu Linux is most often a piece of cake. Not so it seems on Sony latest laptop, the Vaio VPC-Z11-X9E. It’s a wonderful machine, with many new advanced features, but some of the design options seem to be made with only MS Windows in mind (e.g. advanced EFI Bios is crippled towards the end-user and the switch between the 2 GPU’s is badly designed or documented.) That made it a bit of an adventure to get Ubuntu installed. As I am one of the first ones that succeeded, I share my experiences. However I could never have finished this without inspiration from the brightest people, mainly active in the Sony Vaio Z-series Laptop group.
I hope installing Ubuntu will also be easy on this laptop in a few weeks or months. If you can’t wait and love a technical adventure, read on…

So how did I get Linux running on the Sony Vaio VPCZ11X9E with most basic features working, including nvidia driven graphics at 1600×900?

All Linux distributions and versions I tried (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Debian, Mint, Fedora) have a failing installation in someway on this (very new) laptop. The newer distributions fail on the graphics (blank screen, except Kubuntu 8.10). The older versions fail to enable the WiFi. All need a little help for the touchpad. Some distributions can’t handle the RAID disk (2×64GB SSD). So I deleted the RAID config (in BIOS enable ‘Show Raidinfo’ and use the delete option in the RAID configurator).

Eventually I used the Ubuntu 10.04 amd64 Release Candidate DVD in text installation mode.
I created a software RAID with LVM on top of it.
Once installed, the system failed on the graphics (blank screen, totally frozen, no text terminals). Holding the Shift key during boot gives access to the Grub menu. Replacing kernel parameters ‘quiet splash’ with ’single nomodeset i8042.nopnp’ gives a single user (root) mode that does not suffer from a blank screen (nomodeset) and will be able to use the touchpad (i8042.nopnp) once the graphics are running.
At that point it’s clear that Ubuntu 10.04 has working wired and wireless network on this VPCZ11. I tried apt-get upgrade without further success. Installing nvidia driver through Ubuntu sources or from the nVidia website helped neither. nvidia-detector said ‘none’. Starting X on nvidia driver complained about not finding an nvidia device.
The Intel driver failed with a blank screen without nomodeset and with a kernel panic with nomodeset enabled.
With nvidia-xconfig I created a basic /etc/X11/xorg.conf. When I set in that file ‘Driver’ to ‘vesa’ I get graphics working! But limited to 1024×768, which is probably the limit of the vesa driver. I read Sony is very special in how the LCD screen describes it self (with EDID), which could be the reason of the failing graphics. I did apt-get install read-edid. get-edid|parse-edid gives a monitor section which you can enter in xorg.conf. But this didn’t help me.

lspci always show both the intel and nvidia graphics, no matter if the hardware button is on Stamina, Speed of Auto. The hardware graphics selection lights almost never follow the button’s settings. The only way to get it really running in a certain graphics mode, is by running first an older kernel into that graphics mode. I did that first by running my Kubuntu 8.10 CD in between. UPDATE 5/5/10: I found that booting the 2.6.31-10-rt kernel (included in the Ubuntu Lucid Lynx repository) will also do the trick on the next reboot.

UPDATE 6/5/10: Based on the suggestions of Atrawog hereunder in the comments, it is possible to configure one kernel that does all the basics for nvidia (graphics switch is always ok, 1600×900, network, sound, hibernate).

Add to /etc/apt/sources.list :

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kernel-ppa/pre-proposed/ubuntu karmic main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kernel-ppa/pre-proposed/ubuntu karmic main

As root do:

apt-get update

apt-get install linux-image-2.6.31-20-generic

apt-get install linux-backports-modules-karmic-generic

apt-get install linux-backports-modules-2.6.31-20-generic

apt-get install linux-headers-2.6.31-20-generic

apt-get install linux-backports-modules-alsa-2.6.31-20-generic

./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-195.36.15-pkg2.run

Update grub to take the 2.6.31-20 as default with i8042.nopnp option

To sum up:

with nvidia driver (speed mode) I get 1600×900 graphics!
with the intel driver (stamina mode; which I would prefer) I get kernel panics or blank screens (with or without nomodeset).
I’m still searching for a way to change the brightness of the screen.

VPCZ11X9 Linux details

2010-05-09T06:57:00.001-07:00

Reposting from the sony-vaio-z-series10 launchpad mailing list:
[Sony-vaio-z-series] share my experience

just to share my xp with the new sony vaio VPCZ11X9 :)

what is working for me (with the rebooting hack see below) :
nvidia 330M with the driver given by "Hardward Driver" of ubuntu 10.04
i.e. 195.36.15
vga output:ok
hdmi output: ok
powermizer : ok
cpu clock changing from 1.2 to 2.4 with 0.13 scale
wifi :ok
temperature sensor: cpu + gpu  , no harddrive
bluetooth : ok
ethernet :ok
backlight key board : ok
raid0 : ok
webcam: ok
SD card reader: ok
sleep : no (graphic card not selected after wakeup )
hibernation: no

to do that:
install ubuntu alternate 9.04 (with grub 1 for hard raid support ...)
and upgraded to 9.10 and then 10.04 (may be not a crutial point but
10.04 wasnt out yet)

problem : to boot i need each time to boot first an old kernel already
installed (2.6.28-11) (i guess it was in 9.04 cause i didn't installed
it) (which will fail with my nvidia xorg)
and then reboot. at the next reboot the led for speed is on from the
begining (bios screen) i guess the problem comes from the
fact that linux don't activate the card by itself and booting with an
old kernel make the trick (but why ?). the funny thing is that the led
isnt active
at the boot of the old kernel but after reboot.

here is the kernel line of my menu.lst (hehe  still grub 1)
kernel          /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic
root=/dev/mapper/isw_ddfjeaeijb_Volume02 ro nomodeset i8042.nopnp
acpi_osi=\"!Windows 2006\"

still didn't manage to make the intel graphic works....

i guess flashing the bios and make the selection of the card static
would resolve the pb of non-activation of the gpu
but i need to see if it works for my vaio before :)

Improved touchpad drivers for Asus U/UL-series models in Linux

2010-05-06T08:44:00.001-07:00

Blogging this email from the mailing list (edited):
Re: [Asus-ul30] No Touchpad tab in mouse preferences

After building a kernel with Florian's patches to enable the elantech driver:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/512192
the touchpad tab appears in the mouse preferences.

Running ubuntu 10.04 amd64, kernel 2.6.34-rc4 (from Linus's git). Touchpad much better, not perfect, but there are far fewer spurious taps.

Brightness keys UL30VT Ubuntu 10.04

2010-05-04T09:00:00.001-07:00

Seen in ubuntuforums.org:
Scratch from myself: Brightness Key ASUS UL30VT

Make a file called brightness under /bin or /usr/bin and give an executed permission on it.
this the code:

view plain copy to clipboard print ?
#!/bin/bash
export SEED=7
export BRIGHTNESS=`cat ~/.brightness`
case "$1" in
        "up")
                export BRIGHTNESS=$[$BRIGHTNESS+$SEED];
        ;;
        "down")
                export BRIGHTNESS=$[$BRIGHTNESS-$SEED];
        ;;
        *)
                export BRIGHTNESS=1;
        ;;
esac
if [ "$BRIGHTNESS" -gt "0" ]; then
        echo $BRIGHTNESS > ~/.brightness
        sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=$BRIGHTNESS
fi
if [ "$BRIGHTNESS" -lt "0" ]; then
        echo "This makes your screen off";
fi
#!/bin/bash  export SEED=7  export BRIGHTNESS=`cat ~/.brightness`  case "$1" in         "up")                 export BRIGHTNESS=$[$BRIGHTNESS+$SEED];         ;;         "down")                 export BRIGHTNESS=$[$BRIGHTNESS-$SEED];         ;;         *)                 export BRIGHTNESS=1;         ;;  esac  if [ "$BRIGHTNESS" -gt "0" ]; then         echo $BRIGHTNESS > ~/.brightness         sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=$BRIGHTNESS  fi  if [ "$BRIGHTNESS" -lt "0" ]; then         echo "This makes your screen off";  fi
Then append brightness up to /etc/acpi/asus-brn-down.sh and brightness down to /etc/acpi/asus-brn-down.sh you could use this command
sudo echo "brightness up" > /etc/acpi/asus-brn-up.sh
sudo echo "brightness down" > /etc/acpi/asus-brn-down.sh
Then try to push your Fn+F5 again...
hahaha it's darked.
it's tested on ubuntu 10.04 LTS and ASUS UL30VT

Asus UL30VT hybrid video card

2010-05-02T09:36:00.001-07:00

A user has posted the following instructions on the ubuntuforums.org page:

[ubuntu] Asus UL30VT hybrid video card - Ubuntu Forums

Re: Asus UL30VT hybrid video card
you can check the /etc/X11/xorg.conf if you have any.

you probably use the intel card.

to get the nvidia card to work you have to do this:

this is how you get g210m to work on ubuntu 9.10 / 10.04.

1. download and install nvidia drivers. (i have only tested the ones in the repos)

2. make sure you got an Xorg.conf that is correct. ( if not, run nvidia-xconfig )

3. reboot into bios (press delete while booting)

4. change the SATA option in the bios from enhanced to compatibility. ( yea, this makes sense? NOT! )

5. boot into linux and smile!

suspend/resume fixes for nvidia_g210m_acpi in ASUS UL30 models

2010-05-02T04:33:00.001-07:00

This was reported to the mailing list. Click to the link to see the full email:
[Asus-ul30] suspend/resume fixes for nvidia_g210m_acpi.c

Hi,

I have an UL30VT-A1. I was happy to find nvidia-g210m-acpi, but I found that it was causing problems across suspend/resume cycles. I made some simple changes that seem to make it work better:

1) catch post suspend event so that module doesn't need to be unloaded/reloaded after suspend 2) unregister power notifier on unload, so that power events don't cause kernel panic after module is unloaded.

Hope someone else can benefit. :)

Modified code is attached. Maybe the deb can be updated accordingly?
[...]

Kernel parameter i915.powersave=0 fixes screen flickering/blinking lines in ASUS UL30vt

2010-05-02T04:27:00.001-07:00

Reposting this information from the mailing list:
Re: [Asus-ul30] UL30vt and screen flickering/blinking lines

Kernel parameter i915.powersave=0 in grub fixes this issue and I'm very pleased by that.

Kernel 2.6.34 fixes wireless and improves battery life in ASUS UL30A models

2010-05-02T04:23:00.001-07:00

See here an extract of an email sent to the mailing list:
Re: [Asus-ul30] Asus UL30A - Ubuntu 10.04 - Function Keys

After upgrading to some more recent kernel (.33, .34rc6 atm) all the issues with non-working brightness controls / Fn keys were gone as well. You can get recent kernel from the Mainline ppa: http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ As a sidenote, i think my battery lasts way longer with .34 - powertop shows power draw below 6W sometimes. I never had such figures with 9.10 / kernel .31.

ASUS PL30JT to hit Europe next month

2010-04-25T11:12:00.001-07:00

TechConnect Magazine - Asus to release PL30JT Calpella-based business notebook next month

Asus this week has announced the upcoming (European) introduction of the PL30JT-RO030X, a 13.3-inch business laptop that makes use of Intel's Calpella platform and supports Nvidia's Optimus graphics switching technology.

Weighting in 1.7kg, Asus' portable PC has a brushed aluminum palm rest, a multi-gesture touchpad, a 13.3-inch (1366x768) LED-backlit anti-glare display, and packs a 1.06 GHz Core i5-520UM processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, Intel integrated graphics backed by an Nvidia GeForce G310M with 1GB VRAM, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, a 5-in-1 card reader, a HDMI output, and an 8-cell battery.

The PL30JT-RO030X runs Windows 7 Professional and is set to hit stores next month priced at 999 Euro.

First pictures of the UL30J in the wild @ www.mobile01.com

2010-04-20T07:41:00.001-07:00

簡易開箱 ASUS 13.3" UL30JT (圖多) - Mobile01 討論群組

原本說24號後才會到貨沒想到17號就通知可以去領囉

Toshiba Satellite T115 strikes gold @ www.amazon.com

2010-04-16T01:22:00.001-07:00

One of the best-selling ultra-thin laptop in the market, the Toshiba Satellite T115, has reached #9 in the Amazon best-sellers list.

As of today (20100416), there are 18 members in the Toshiba Satelllite T100/T115/T135 Launchpad team. Apart from initial problems with the Realtek wireless drivers, it looks like people is happy using Linux on this laptop series.

Battery Life is in the eye of the beholder @ www.engadget.com

2010-04-15T09:57:00.001-07:00

The advertised battery life for many laptops is usually not even close to what ends up being in reality. For example, Apple refreshed the MacBook Pro line and advertised 10 hours of battery life in the announcement. Now www.engadget.com has reviewed the laptop and it turns 10 hours in Apple's labs mean 5:18 in the real world, which is a mere 53 extra minutes more than the Sony VAIO Z.

MacBook Pro Core i7 review -- Engadget

Battery Life*

MacBook Pro 15 - 2010 (2.66GHz Core i7, NVIDIA GT 330M) 5:18
Sony VAIO Z (2.53GHz Core i5, NVIDIA GT 330M) 4:25
HP Envy 15 (1.6GHz Core i7-720QM, ATI HD 4830) 2:00

New Macbook Pro 13-inch stays Core duo -- "seamless" hybrid graphics only for 15- and 17-inch models

2010-04-13T06:12:00.001-07:00

It turns out the rumors were wrong, and there *is* an update MacBook Pro 13.3-inch model. It features a Core 2 Duo CPU and a 320M NVIDIA graphics card. For the 15- and 17-inch models, with i5/i7 core CPUs, Apple's press releases describes the hybrid graphics capabilities as:

"Apple's new automatic graphics switching technology that toggles seamlessly between powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M and energy efficient Intel HD Graphics processors."

But again, that is only for the 15- and 17-inch models with the NVIDIA 330M cards.
So from the looks of it, the new Macbook Pro 13-inch will be competing for price/features with the low-end Sony Vaio Z model. The high-end Sony Vaio Z models, with newer Intel CPUs, powerful hybrid graphics GPUs and Quad-SSD options, remain unchallenged.
Also unchallenged in the sub-$1000 are going to be the powerful new U/UL lines from ASUS and the TimelineX series from Acer: ASUS UL30Vt, ASUS U30Jc, ASUS UL30Jt and Acer 3820TG.
ASUS remains king of the hill for battery life with the ~12 hours in UL30A models, and >10 hours for the hybrid models, like the UL30Vt and the yet-to-be-released UL30Jt.
Acer follows closely with more CPU and GPU power with the announced 3820TG, very competitive prices and decent battery life.

Apple Updates MacBook Pro Line

The 2.4 GHz, 13-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

* 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
* 1066 MHz front-side bus;
* 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
* 250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
* AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* iSight® video camera;
* two USB 2.0 ports;
* one FireWire® 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible);
* SD card slot;
* combined headphone/line in (analog/digital);
* glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
* built-in, 63.5WHr lithium polymer battery; and
* 60 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

The 2.66 GHz, 13-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

* 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
* 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
* 1066 MHz front-side bus;
* 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 8GB;
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
* 320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
* a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* Mini DisplayPort (VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters sold separately);
* AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
* Gigabit Ethernet port;
* iSight video camera;
* two USB 2.0 ports;
* one FireWire 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible);
* SD card slot;
* combined headphone/line in (analog/digital);
* glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;
* built-in, 63.5WHr lithium polymer battery; and
* 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Apple will not update 13inch MacBook Pros this time @ www.macrumors.com

2010-04-11T01:09:00.001-07:00

Macrumors has published a piece that indicates new product numbers for Macbook Pros are limited to the 15 inch and 17 inch models. These are meant to be updated next week, suposedly with new Intel Core i7 and i5 CPUs:
http://www.macrumors.com/2010/04/10/macbook-pro-updates-imminent-really-part-numbers-appear/ The 13inch model doesn't show up in the list. This probably means Apple hasn't been able to super-charge its 13inch Macbook Pro with a real discrete graphics card or a newer Intel CPU. Only ASUS seems to be able to design a ultrathin laptop with serious GPU oomph, with their U30Jc model, and the upcoming UL30Jt and PL30Jt laptops. Acer is behind, with an updated 3820TG model, featuring ATI's Mobility Radeon HD.

ASUS U30Jc skyrockets to Amazon bestsellers list @ www.amazon.com

2010-04-11T00:59:00.001-07:00

Only a week after its release, the ASUS U30Jc has skyrocketed to the bestsellers list at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U30JC-A1-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Silver/dp/B0036ZEANO/ref=pd_ts_pc_16?ie=UTF8&s=pc

Howto Touchpad Sony Vaio Z series 2010 and Linux

2010-04-02T07:04:00.001-07:00

Inserting the kernel parameter:

i8042.nopnp

will make touchpad to work the Vaio Z 2010 (VPCZ11Z93), kernel version is 2.6.31-21.

Fake RAID in Linux: Sony Vaio Z11 series with 4x64 SSD

2010-03-30T00:49:00.001-07:00

Some of the laptops in the market, like the Sony Vaio Z-series 2010 (e.g., Z11) come with a RAID hard drive that looks like it's 4x64GB, but it actually behaves more like a 2x128GBs configuration. Sony has engineered its own software layer for this, and this hasn't been implemented in Linux at the time of this writing (20100330). Since Linux cannot recognize this kind of Fake RAID at boot time, it will cause problems when trying to install Ubuntu with default options (other distros may have slightly different behaviours).
https://lists.launchpad.net/sony-vaio-z-series/msg01145.html
The good news is that there *are* workarounds, like the dmraid module, which can be found here:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FakeRaidHowto

But for the Z11 sony-vaio-z-series case, it's been reported that what *does* work is to follow the instructions in this youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x2rZe2Z9as

This will set up an Ubuntu Karmic with a soft RAID 0, with the Fake RAID disabled by the BIOS.

Other users have commented that disabling the onboard RAID is probably the best solution, even once Linux dmraid supports the chipset. The argument is that Linux software will often give at least as good performance as most onboard 'RAID controllers'.

There is a caveat to the RAID0 configuration: losing any drive can potentially destroy all your data. So another suggestion is to use
RAID10 (or RAID5) for speed/redundancy, or alternatively, to add all the drives to a linear LVM volume, giving you access to all the
space. This means you only lose what's on a single drive if it dies.

Updated chart of Ultrathin Linux laptops -- Sony Vaio Y Series Linux makes an entry

2010-03-28T01:11:00.001-07:00

We have added the Sony Vaio Y Series Linux launchpad team to the chart of Ultrathin Linux laptops. See below the updated chart:

Linux on Sony Vaio Y series Launchpad Team

2010-03-28T00:59:00.001-07:00

The sony-vaio-y-series Launchpad team is a group of Sony Vaio Y series owners and/or developers interested in getting it to work 100% under Linux.

Please subscribe to this team if you are new by clicking on the
"Join Team" link at the right. Also, please participate to the poll
below:

http://www.doodle.com/czz6pcm77kndnnz9

You can check the model and version of you laptop with this command:

sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name

sudo dmidecode -s system-version

lspci -vnnn | perl -lne 'print if /^\d+\:.+(\[\S+\:\S+\])/'

HOWTO Linux Acer Timeline Suspend

2010-03-23T08:02:00.001-07:00

One of the Acer Timeline Linux users has found a solution for successfully suspending in Linux:
https://lists.launchpad.net/acertimeline/msg00277.html

fix:

Change GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="" to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="i8042.reset=1" in/etc/default/grub.

Run sudo update-grub.<br />Reboot.<br /><br />

Current Ultrathin Linux laptops by category and release date

2010-03-20T11:34:00.001-07:00

It's been over a year that we started compiling Linux-specific information about Ultrathin Linux laptops, and there are now about a dozen different laptop models with Launchpad teams. Since we are comparing laptops that have been released during a time lapse of about 15 months, we made a little plot to show when where the different models released and where do they stand in terms of their market segment. We've even included the latest Asus UL30JT, that hasn't been officially released but looks like end of 2010Q1 or beginning of 2010Q2.

This is how it

Acer TimelineX @ www.digitimes.com

2010-03-20T05:08:00.000-07:00

Preparing for the debut of the Acer TimelineX updated line, we have updated the Launchpad Acer Timeline website to reflect the existance of the new models. If you have a TimelineX laptop and you use Linux on it, subscribe to the Launchpad group now!

Acer to globally debut Calpella Timeline notebooks March 22

Acer will unveil its Calpella Timeline series notebooks
equipped with Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processors for the global
market on March 22, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
The
series will have display sizes ranging from 13- to 15-inch with a
running time of eight hours, the same as the company's Timeline
ultra-thin models.
Although Acer's Calpella Timeline
notebooks will be as thick as the Timeline models, they will be
slightly heavier due to the cooling modules.
The
Calpella Timeline series will feature a 9-cell battery instead of the
Timeline's 6-cell battery to enable an eight-hour battery life, the
sources noted.
The Calpella Timeline will have three
different display sizes: the 13-inch model is made by Wistron, while
the 14- and 15-inch models are produced by Quanta Computer.
Scott
Lin, president of Acer Taiwan, confirmed that the Calpella Timeline
will be launched by the end of March, while Acer Taiwan will officially
launch the product on March 30.
Lin, citing GfK's
figures, said that Acer surpassed its major competitor Asustek Computer
and became the largest notebook and desktop vendor in Taiwan in terms
of sales in 2009. Acer had 33-34% of the notebook market in Taiwan, and
25% of the desktop segment.

Ultrathin Linux Fight: Asus U33JC vs MacBookPro 13

2010-03-18T06:01:00.000-07:00

Current Ultrathin Linux laptops by category and release date

2010-03-17T06:56:00.001-07:00

Ultrathin Linux Fight: Asus UL30Jc vs MacBookPro 13 inch

2010-03-12T10:21:00.001-08:00

Asus PL30Jt @ www.engadget.com

2010-03-08T23:07:00.001-08:00

ASUS debuts business-minded PL30JT laptop -- Engadget

If there's one company that goes all out at CeBIT
each year, its ASUS, as evidenced by the fact that we're still catching
up with new products from the company the week after CeBIT. This one
slipped under our radar at the show, but the folks at Softpedia
managed to get a bit of hands-on time with the company's new PL30JT
model, which looks more than a little like ASUS' previously announced UL30
series. The big news with this one is the inclusion of NVIDIA GeForce
310M graphics with Optimus technology, which is complemented by a Core
i5-520UM processor, a 13.3-inch 1,336 x 768 display, up to 8GB of RAM,
a max 640GB hard drive, and ASUS' own Turbo33 technology, which
promises to "enhance performance by up to 33%." No word on a price or
release date just yet, but this wasn't one of the models promised in
ASUS' initial batch of Optimus-enabled laptops.

Linux on the Toshiba Satellite T135 (e.g. T135-S1310RD)

2010-03-04T05:18:00.001-08:00

Amazon.com: Toshiba Satellite T135-S1310RD TruBrite 13.3-Inch Ultrathin Black/Red Laptop - 9 Hours 22 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium): Computer & Accessories

The Toshiba Satellite T135-S1310RD TruBrite 13.3-Inch Ultrathin Laptop has been in the market for a good 3 months at the time of this writing, and Linux users around th world have been testing its Linux compatibility since then.
The Toshiba Satellite T100/T110/T135 series Laptop Linux Launchpad team has since then grown to 15 members (Mar 4 2010), and apart from some minor needed tweaks to get sound working, everything else work Out of The Box in Linux.

Here is a list of Reported issues and solutions so far (Mar 4 2010):
Realtek wireless drivers. Reported solutions here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=8456806&postcount=6

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/401126/comments/208

Screen brightness. Reported solution here:

http://swiss.ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=8295090&postcount=6

Microphone/audio. Reported solutio here:

https://lists.launchpad.net/toshiba-t100-series/msg00000.html
For more information, go to https://launchpad.net/~toshiba-t100-series

Asus UL30JT @ www.expertlaptopreview.com

2010-02-20T07:21:00.001-08:00

Asus UL30JT with i7 to be Released Soon! » Expert Laptop Review

Big news comes down to us from CES 2010. Asus will be releasing the
UL30JT, which will sport the exact same chassis as the UL30VT but will
house an ultra low voltage i7 quad core processor instead. It is
reported that the UL30JT will have the same 12 hour battery life of the
UL30VT and will also have a Nvidia 310M, which should perform
identically (if not a little better) than the 210M. It’s
crazy to think that they are stuff quad threaded dual core processors
in laptops so small these days. Mind blowing. If you were thinking
about buying a UL30VT, it might be a good idea to wait a month or two
for this bad boy to come out. But then again, new technology is always
coming out so you might be waiting forever.

Here’s a link for more info: http://zedomax.com/blog/2010/01/08/asus-ul30jt-hands-on-review-ces-2010/

Here’s a hands-on video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYk9kfogYr0&feature=player_embedded

Taking Ubuntu Lucid for a testdrive @ dustingkirkand.com

2010-02-19T09:14:00.001-08:00

From the Canyon Edge - :-Dustin Kirkland: Have you taken Lucid for a testrive yet?

Ubuntu Lucid Lynx is in Feature Freeze, and Alpha3 is right around the corner, releasing next week.

If you're running Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10, or 10.04, it's trivial to testdrive Lucid in a virtual machine, without modifying your current installation!

If you're already running Lucid, congrads! All you need to do is add the testdrive ppa, and install testdrive, and either kvm or virtualbox-ose.

Just pop open a terminal and run:

  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:testdrive/ppa && \
 sudo apt-get update && \
 sudo apt-get install testdrive

Then you can either run testdrive from the command line, or use the menu, Applications -> System Tools -> Testdrive.

Then,
a menu will pop up, with a menu of Lucid daily images. If you have
previously downloaded any of these, you should see a timestamp of the
cached file. If you run testdrive everyday, your cache will stay up-to-date, and the incremental download will be much faster!

Select
one of the offered ISOs, or enter a URL to another one of your
choosing, and you should be off and running. Help us make Lucid Lynx
the best Ubuntu to date!

Linux on Asus UL30/UL50/UL80 laptop

2010-02-17T23:53:00.001-08:00

A great success story of Linux compatibility is that of the Asus UL30/UL50/UL80 laptop series. In less than 4 months, the Launchpad team of Asus UL series laptop owners and/or developers, those running Linux on e.g. ASUS UL30A-A2, ASUS UL30A-X5, ASUS
UL30A-A3B, ASUS UL30Vt-A1, ASUS UL30Vt-X1, ASUS UL80Ag-A2B, ASUS
UL80Ag-A1, ASUS UL30JT, ASUS UL80JT, Asus UL50Vt has amounted to 82 members.
The projected memberships make the Asus UL series the most popular ultrathin Linux laptop around, followed by the Acer Timeline and Sony Vaio Z-series laptops.
A big success we hope will just keep growing in numbers and achievements!

Switch off nvidia Linux Asus ULx0Vt models debian package

2010-02-07T07:36:00.001-08:00

One of the Linux users has found a solution to switch off the nvidia card in the ULx0Vt models.
For Ubuntu Karmic, download and install this package:

http://launchpadlibrarian.net/38458054/nvidia-g210m-acpi-source_0.1.0-1%7Eppa-karmic_all.deb

Then once installed, run the following command on a terminal:

sudo modprobe nvidia_g210m_acpi

Howto Dual-boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.10 on HP dm3-1010ed @ ubuntuforums.org

2010-02-07T06:58:00.001-08:00

[ubuntu] [HOWTO] Dual-boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.10 on HP dm3-1010ed - Ubuntu Forums

Explains how to create a dual-boot configuration without a CD/DVD.

Solution for Asus UL30A Skype flipped camera

2010-02-06T13:15:00.001-08:00

[Asus-ul30] HowTo: Running Skype Video without the flipped webcam image (UL30A) Ubuntu 9.10 (x64)

On an ASUS UL30A:

1. sudo apt-get install v4l2ucp (I don't know if it's really necessary but I did it first while looking around for fixes)
2. Adding the libv4l-PPA, update package lists and install libv4l-0

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libv4l
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libv4l-0

(Thanks to: http://radu.cotescu.com/2009/11/05/flipped-images-ubuntu-webcam/)

3. Starting Skype with a shell-script e.g. called skype.sh containing:

#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l2convert.so skype

(Open a text editor, copy&paste the text above, save the file as "skype.sh" and give it executing rights (by sudo chmod +x skype.sh)

Switchable graphics in Linux: who will use it?

2010-02-03T23:09:00.001-08:00

The new switchable graphics feature in Linux is great news for a lot of Linux users. We've been compiling information about Ultrathin Linux laptops for a bit more than a year now, and the four most successful laptops have hybrid graphics configuration:

The first one is the Asus UL30/UL80 line. The UL*0Vt models have an intel/nvidia configuration, with a physical switch button.
The second one is the Acer Timeline. The 3810TG and 4810TG models have intel/ATI configuration with no switch button.
The third one is the Sony Vaio Z-series. There are 193 subscribed members in the Launchpad team. All of them with intel/nvidia configurations with physical switch.
The fourth is the HP dm3 line. The dm3z models have intel/nvidia confs.
The seventh is the HP Envy line. These are intel/ATI configurations.

All round up to around ~500 users, many of them with hybrid graphics configurations. The 12 month projections since Launchpad team creation are now at ~900 linux users of these ultrathin laptops. So all the work David and Matthew have done will be greatly received!!

How to run Linux on Acer Timeline 3810T at 7.0W

2010-01-29T04:16:00.001-08:00

Ubuntu Forums - View Single Post - [ubuntu] Acer Timeline 3810T
The Acer Timeline laptop is still one of the best choices when it comes to ultra-thin Linux laptops, only second to the Asus UL30/UL80 laptop series.

Recently reported in ubuntuforums.org, a user has managed to bring the Linux power usage in a Acer Timeline 3810T-8737 model down to 7.0W using this instructions:

#!/bin/bash
# Author: Riskable
#
# Description: Enables every power saving feature I know of
#

# Enable Intel HD Audio power saving
echo 10 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save
echo Y > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save_controller
echo 1 > /dev/dsp # Gotta make a sound to turn it on

# Enable various kernel power saving features
echo 1500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs

# Enable SATA power management
for i in /sys/class/scsi_host/*; do echo "min_power" > $i/link_power_management_policy; cat $i/link_power_management_policy; done

# Enable Wifi power management
/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 power on

# Enable the most aggressive hard drive power savings
hdparm -B 1 -S 12 /dev/sda # Note: May not work on the Acer Timeline's hard drive

How to solve cam flipped in Linux Asus UL30

2010-01-26T05:20:00.001-08:00

One of the Asus UL30/UL80 Launchpad team members has posted the instructions on how to solve the cam flipped issue:
http://lists.launchpad.net/asus-ul30/msg00044.html

echo -e "\n# libv4l PPA\ndeb http://ppa.launchpad.net/libv4l/ppa/ubuntu `lsb_release -c | awk '{print $2}'` main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com C3FFB4AA
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libv4l-0

to start applications you need to preload so:

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so your_application_comand<br />

This issue is also seen in Windows 7, which also needs a driver update in different laptop models. The solution above is Linux-specific.

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge review @ www.engadget.com

2010-01-03T12:57:00.001-08:00

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge to bridge gap between IdeaPads and pro machines? -- Engadget

Dear Lenovo, thank you for being so loose-lipped about your forthcoming products, we most certainly appreciate it. Joining the now fully detailed X100e is a purported new line of entry-level ThinkPads -- dubbed the ThinkPad Edge. We've only got the one source and that image above as evidence, but the details appear to make sense in terms of Lenovo's overall lineup strategy. Set to fit in between the professional ThinkPads and more consumer-oriented IdeaPads, the Edge will start off with 13.3-inch units sporting a choice of low-voltage dual-core AMD or Intel processors, up to eight hours of battery life, and a robust 4GB of memory paired to 500GB of storage. The word is that we'll see the new machines make an appearance by CES 2010 at the latest, and we've got a purported spec sheet for your perusal after the break.

Sony Vaio Z series refreshed with 48-core Nvidia GT 330M GPU @ www.engadget.com

2010-01-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

The Sony vaio Z series laptop has been refreshed and will include an up-to-date switchable graphics configuration with an Nvidia GT 330M GPU + Intel HD Graphics. This particular model of discrete graphics card comes with 48 CUDA cores and is OpenCL-enabled.

Since the previous incarnations of the Sony Vaio Z series have had Linux switchable graphics support and working CUDA Linux drivers, it's expected that this newer model will achieve the same level of Linux compatibility once it's available to the market.

Sony Vaio Y11, S11 and F11 leaked ahead of launch, Z and CW series refreshed -- Engadget

It appears that the Vaio T's return is only the tip of a giant iceberg of refreshes coming out from Sony HQ this month. Greek e-tailer Compuland has a trio of new models listed -- seemingly prematurely -- for sale: the Vaio Y11 (pictured) is a relatively standard 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 machine with 4GB of DDR3 memory and 320GB of storage, and its nomenclature seems to fit given that its specs land somewhere between the underpowered X and fully-equipped Z series. Speaking of the latter, Sony is adding a Core i5-520M to its refreshed Z line, as well as to the new 16-inch F11 model which adds a half terabyte storage drive just for kicks. The lesser Core i3-330M Arrandale chip finds a home in the new 13-inch S11 laptop, which may or may not be replacing the SR series we know and love, as well as a freshened up CW number. Hit the read links for early pricing and more details, and if you hope really hard maybe we'll get proper announcements from the official channels some time soon.

Asus UL20, Asus UL30, UL30Vt, UL50, UL80, UL80JT sound fixes in Linux kernel v2.6.33-rc2

2010-01-01T05:48:00.001-08:00

The new v2.6.33-rc2 Linux kernel contains sound fixes in the following Asus models:
Asus UL20, Asus UL30, UL30Vt, UL50, UL80, UL80JT

http://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel&m=126141178420444&w=2

If you are a Linux user of the Asus UL30/UL80 laptop series and are experiencing issues with previous versions of the Linux kernel, these may disappear if you upgrade to 2.6.33.

Solution to switch off nvidia card in Linux Asus UL30Vt, UL50V, UL80V

2009-12-28T08:24:00.001-08:00

If you are using Linux on an Asus UL30Vt, or Asus UL50Vt or Asus UL80Vt, keep reading...

One of the Linux users has found a solution to switch off the nvidia card in the UL30Vt models,
which by the looks of the DSDT tables, will also work for the UL50Vt and UL80Vt models with nvidia card.

For Ubuntu Karmic, download and install this package:

http://launchpadlibrarian.net/38458054/nvidia-g210m-acpi-source_0.1.0-1%7Eppa-karmic_all.deb

Then once installed, run the following command on a terminal:

sudo modprobe nvidia_g210m_acpi


Explanation:

This module uses the ACPI P0P1.VGA._OFF method, which is the same for all 3 models.

The code file, "asus_nvidia.c" is derived from "lenovo_acpi.c" by Sylvain Joyeux.

Here is the original post and another one that adds hibernation support:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5663702&postcount=1239
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5664880&postcount=1244

asus_nvidia.c
========================================================
#include <acpi/acpi.h>
#include <linux/suspend.h>

MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");

static acpi_handle root_handle;

static int kill_nvidia(void)
{
  acpi_status status;
  // The device handle
  acpi_handle handle;
  struct acpi_object_list args;
  // For the return value
  struct acpi_buffer buffer = { ACPI_ALLOCATE_BUFFER, NULL };

  status = acpi_get_handle(root_handle, "\\_SB.PCI0.P0P1.VGA._OFF", &handle);
  if (ACPI_FAILURE(status))
  {
      printk("%s: cannot get ACPI handle: %s\n", __func__, acpi_format_exception(status));
      return -ENOSYS;
  }

  args.count = 0;
  args.pointer = NULL;

  status = acpi_evaluate_object(handle, NULL, &args, &buffer);
  if (ACPI_FAILURE(status))
  {
      printk("%s: _OFF method call failed: %s\n", __func__, acpi_format_exception(status));
      return -ENOSYS;
  }
  kfree(buffer.pointer);

  printk("%s: disabled the discrete graphics card\n",__func__);
  return 0;
}

static int power_event(struct notifier_block *this, unsigned long event,
                     void *ptr)
{
      switch (event) {
      case PM_POST_HIBERNATION:
              kill_nvidia();
              return NOTIFY_DONE;
      case PM_POST_SUSPEND:
      case PM_HIBERNATION_PREPARE:
      case PM_SUSPEND_PREPARE:
      default:
              return NOTIFY_DONE;
      }
}

static struct notifier_block power_notifier = {
      .notifier_call = power_event,
};

static int __init asus_nvidia(void)
{
  int ret = register_pm_notifier(&power_notifier);
  if (ret) return ret;
  return kill_nvidia();
}

static void dummy(void)
{
}

module_init(asus_nvidia);
module_exit(dummy);
========================================================

Makefile
========================================================
ifneq ($(KERNELRELEASE),)
obj-m := asus_nvidia.o
else
KERNELDIR ?= /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
PWD := $(shell pwd)

default:
      $(MAKE) -C $(KERNELDIR) M=$(PWD) $(EXTRA_FLAGS) modules

clean:
      $(MAKE) -C $(KERNELDIR) M=$(PWD) $(EXTRA_FLAGS) clean

endif
========================================================

To compile it, simply run:

Code:

make

To install it, run as root:

Code:

cp asus_nvidia.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/<br />depmod

To try it out, run as root:

Code:

modprobe asus_nvidia

To load it on each reboot on Ubuntu, run as root:

Code:

echo asus_nvidia >>/etc/modules

That last step will be different on other distros, e.g., on Gentoo you need to append the module name to /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6.<br />

Samsung EasySpeedUp Manager for Linux

2009-12-27T01:34:00.001-08:00

One of the Samsung-X360 Launchpad team members has produced a kernel module that implements the Samsung Easy SpeedUp Manager in Linux.

http://code.google.com/p/easy-slow-down-manager

It has 3 modes:

Silent mode gets its name because it reduces the voltage of the system, so there is less likelihood of activity coming from the hard drive or fan. By reducing the power level, the laptop runs slower, which is great if you’re working on basic every day tasks. The benefit, besides a silent running laptop, is that battery life can be extended.

Normal mode, is as the name suggests, the default setting for the Samsung laptop and runs the system at the level of performance you have already defined in Samsung Battery Manager.

Speed mode is the final setting and effectively overclocks the CPU by running at its most efficient. This mode is great if you need to make sure the full system resources are being used by apps on the laptop, which is great if you need to run something a little more labour intensive, such as video.

There is also package for Arch Linux here:
http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=32617

Improve the battery life of your Linux Acer Timeline 4810TG

2009-12-24T00:24:00.001-08:00

http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=8502327&postcount=580

As reported in ubuntuforums:

Activate laptop mode in "/etc/default/acpi-support" and use this /etc/rc.local:

Code:

#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.

/sbin/iwconfig wlan0 power on
echo 1500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs 
hal-disable-polling --device /dev/cdrom

exit 0

Toshiba satellite T135-S130 @ cnet review

2009-12-23T04:03:00.001-08:00

CNET Review of Satellite T135-S1310 | Toshiba

The good:
Dual-core CULV processor; Windows 7 preinstalled; very good battery life.
The bad:
Weak speakers; uncomfortable touch pad.
The bottom line:
Toshiba's slick entry into the thin-and-light laptop world is timed for Windows 7, but if you're going to get one, make sure it's the dual-core T135-S1310, and not its single-core cousin.
Specifications:
Processor: Intel Pentium (1300 MHz); RAM installed: DDR3 SDRAM; Hard drive size: 320 GB; See full specs »
Price Range: $691.00 - $780.94

CNET Editors' Review

Reviewed by: Scott Stein

Edited by: Dan Ackerman

Reviewed on: 10/22/2009

Released on: 10/22/2009

How much of a difference does a single-core versus dual-core ultralow-voltage processor make on a thin-and-light these days? You may not be paying attention under the hood--and that's not your fault, because it's hard to notice the differences based on processor name and Intel sticker-logos--but you should know that it makes quite a big difference indeed. Case in point: Toshiba's new T135 thin-and-light, which we reviewed last week in its single-core configuration, the T135-S1300. For $599, we found it underpowered compared with its competitors, despite having very good battery life.

Yet, for only $100 more, the T135-S1310, which has a dual-core SU4100 processor, outperforms nearly every thin-and-light we've seen lately. For that $100 extra (plus $10 for a red or white Fusion Finish--which is what the company calls the high-gloss coating--instead of black), you not only get an Intel CULV that handles multitasking far better, but you also get an extra gig of RAM (and at a faster speed, too) and a 320GB hard drive instead of a 250. Simply put, the $699 Toshiba T135-S1310 is a no-brainer compared with its very similarly named cousin.

While we still have issues with some of the design of the T135, and found the speakers to be very weak, the T135-S1310 represents an excellent value point over the T135-S1300, and should be considered by anyone in the Windows 7 thin-and-light market. Just make sure you like the look and feel first.

Price as reviewed / Starting price
Processor
Memory
Hard drive
Chipset
Graphics
Operating System
Dimensions (WD)
Height
Screen size (diagonal)
System weight / Weight with AC adapter
Category

$709 / $699
1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100
4GB, 1,066MHz DDR3
320GB 5,400rpm
Mobile Intel GM45 Express
Intel GMA 4500MHD
Windows 7 Home Premium
12.7 x 8.8 inches
1.4 inches
13.3 inches
3.8/4.5 pounds
Thin and light

From a casual overview, the T135 series shares a number of design similarities to the rest of the Toshiba Satellite lineup that received an upgrade earlier this year. Covered inside and out in a glossy checkerboard Fusion Finish in either black, red, or white--ours was red, which, along with white, costs an extra $10--the T135 is accented with slick chrome highlights along the edge of the palm rest and on the touch-pad buttons. In fact, we liked the T135 better in red than we did in black. However, that slickness continues literally to the keyboard,

Video
Audio
Data
Expansion
Networking
Optical Drive

Satellite T135-S1310

VGA-out, HDMI

Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks

2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 2.0/sleep and charge, SD card reader

None

Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

None

Average for Category (thin & light)

VGA plus HDMI or DisplayPort

Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks

3 USB 2.0, SD card reader

ExpressCard/54

Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional WWAN

DVD burner

which is finished in the same glossy coating we've been less than enthusiastic about in other Satellites. While the T135 is thinner than Toshiba's thick midrange Satellites such as the U505-S2940, it's still a semi-chunky 1.4 inches thick.

The flat keyboard performs better than we remembered on larger Core 2 Duo models, but it still feels a little too greasy. The touch pad is a matte rectangle inset along the glossy palm rest, and feels decent but not spectacular. The silver button-bar beneath is one continuous piece of plastic that toggles on either side for left or right clicks, but we always prefer distinct buttons instead. Other than the power button, there are no other buttons besides the standard keyboard,so control panel adjustments such as screen brightness are all handled with function-key combinations. Volume control is oddly relegated to a function combination with the 3 and 4 number keys, which took us forever to locate.

The 13.3-inch glossy LED-backlit screen on the Satellite T135-S1310 has a native resolution of 1,366x768 pixels, sharp colors, and good brightness, and it looked perfectly crisp in our use. Above the screen is a Webcam that took fair video, but grainy and low-resolution snapshots. More disappointing were the Satellite T135-S1310's speakers, which are stereo and planted on the base below the keyboard, but still sounded like they were emanating from the middle of a pillow-lined box: the volume at maximum was so soft and tinny, they were practically worthless. We also had issues with Toshiba's Netbook speakers, but other Toshiba speakers were generally exceptional. This was a big letdown.

Technically, the T135-S1310 leaves nothing to be desired as far as ports and features. In addition to a sleep-and-charge USB port, there's an SD card reader and an HDMI port. The T135-S1310 also includes Bluetooth, yet another feature gained by spending the extra $100 over the T135-S1300. While we had issues with HDMI-out on a laptop that didn't handle HD video well like the T135-S1300 did, we can say that the T135-S1310 was very good at handling both HD and streaming video--not spectacular, but certainly passable.

The T135-S1310 comes with a 320GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and an Intel Pentium SU4100 processor. The T135 can also be downgraded to a similar-sounding SU2700 processor (see our review of the T135-S1300), but we would seriously recommend you spend the extra $100 for this model. Our T135 also had Windows 7 Home Premium preinstalled, as it's a launch laptop for Microsoft's new OS. Windows 7 was a good experience on this machine, which further convinces us of Win 7's versatility.

Now, for a word on the confusing landscape of Intel CULV processor names: Intel's Pentium SU4100 processor is in fact a dual-core processor, one that actually outperformed the dual-core Core 2 Duo CULV in the Asus UL30A-A1 in our benchmark tests. Why this processor gets a Pentium name instead of a Core 2 Duo owes to the vagary of Intel's naming conventions, but the gap between the SU4100 and the single-core SU2700 in the T135-S1300 is fairly huge. The SU2700, by comparison, performed only fairly better than a Netbook-grade Intel Atom processor, but not by much.

By going dual-core, this Toshiba managed to be one of the better-performing CULV thin-and-lights in our benchmark comparison chart, where we focused on recent comparable machines. Dual-core does indeed make a big difference. We hope that Intel makes this CULV landscape a bit clearer in the future for potential consumers, since the stickers on both the T135 models were identical, and advertised a misleading (and unappealing) "Pentium Inside." Intel is doing itself a disservice to a good SU4100 processor.

Multimedia multitasking test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Video playback battery drain test (in seconds)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

The six-cell battery in the Toshiba Satellite T135-S1310 ran for 6 hours and 14 minutes using our video playback battery drain test, which is a more extreme challenge than normal laptop use would provide. That battery life is much better than most thin-and-lights, including the Acer Aspire 3810T, and even bested the results we got with the lower-powered T135-S1300.

Toshiba includes an industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty with the Satellite T135-S1310, which can also be upgraded to three-year coverage. Support is accessible 24-7 via a toll-free phone line, an online knowledge base, and a Web site with driver downloads.

Find out more about how we test laptops.

Juice Box
Toshiba Satellite T135-S1310
Off (watts)
Sleep (watts)
Idle (watts)
Load (watts)
Raw (annual kWh)
Annual operating cost (@$0.1135/kWh)

0.24

0.57

9.37

22.58

32.17

$3.65

System configurations:
Toshiba Satellite T135-S1310

Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit); 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100; 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 320GB Toshiba 5,400rpm

Toshiba Satellite T135-S1300

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU2700; 3072MB DDR3 SDRAM 800MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 250GB Toshiba 5,400rpm

Asus UL30A

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300; 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 800MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 500GB Seagate 5,400rpm

©2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Lenovo Ideapad U350

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU2700; 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 320GB Western Digital 5,400rpm

Acer Aspire 3810T

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U9400; 4096MB DDR2 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 128MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 500GB Toshiba 5,400rpm

Dell Inspiron 1545

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400; 3072MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330; 250GB Western Digital 5,400rpm

Dell Adamo

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit); 1.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U9300; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 779MB (Shared) Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD; 128GB Samsung SSD

Toshiba Satellite T100/T115/T135 series Launchpad Team

2009-12-23T03:45:00.001-08:00

Linux Launchpad team for the people who own or develop for the Toshiba Satellite T100/T115/T135 series laptop, so that we can have more information from users that use Linux, and send better bug reports upstream.

Please subscribe to this team if you are new by clicking on the "Join Team" link at the right:
http://launchpad.net/~toshiba-t100-series

Toshiba Satellite T100/T115/T135 series @ www.engadget.com

2009-12-22T21:12:00.001-08:00

Toshiba Satellite T100 series of thin-and-lights receive Windows 7 nod -- Engadget

Hope you're ready for it 'cause a deluge of new computing hardware is coming with the launch of Windows 7. Here's Toshiba's T100 series with LED backlit displays, Intel CULV SU4100 processors, DDR3 memory, eSATA/USB combo ports, integrated webcams, 5-in-1 card readers, HDMI-out, a claimed 9-hours of life from 6-cell batteries, and multi-touch trackpads set for launch on October 22nd. The 13-inch, 3.88-pound T135 (pictured above, left) starts at $600 with 250GB 5400RPM disk, up to 8GB or memory, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. The T115 starts at $450 and brings an 11.6-inch display, up to 4GB of memory, and 3.49-pound heft. All Windows 7 all the time, just the way you want it.

HP Envy 15 receives key Linux ACPI kernel fix

2009-12-21T13:52:00.001-08:00

For those interested in running Linux on an HP Envy 15, you will be glad to know that Alex Chiang has submitted a patch to the Linux kernel which will fix some of the ACPI issues for the HP Envy 15:
http://lkml.org/lkml/2009/12/20/146

[...]
It was also boot tested on an HP Envy 15 (x86) and an HP rx6600
(ia64). It resolved the namespace failures on the Envy 15 and did
not cause any regressions on the rx6600.
[...]

Enabling VT features on an Acer Timeline laptop with Linux and EFI GRUB

2009-12-21T01:06:00.001-08:00

One of the Acer Timeline Launchpad team members has reported on enabling the VT features on a 3810TG laptop running Linux. Using a USB stick loaded with the BOOTX64.EFI image, and using a downgraded Acer BIOS, the VT can successfully be enabled. Then one can upgrade the BIOS back to the latest one.

See the email here:
http://lists.launchpad.net/acertimeline/msg00224.html
and the link to the EFI image here:
http://feature-enable.blogspot.com/2009/07/enable-vt-on-insydeh2o-based-sony-vaio.html

Dell Vostro V13 review @ www.engadget.com

2009-12-19T07:17:00.001-08:00

Dell Vostro V13 hands-on impressions: 'yes' -- Engadget

What if you took an original Adamo, shaved a couple pounds off the weight and a grand off the price? You'd end up with something pretty close to the new Dell Vostro V13. We just got a quick look at the machine, and while some of the cheaper materials Dell is using here certainly came through, the total package is still quite impressive -- and the price unimpeachable. The anodized aluminum exterior is smooth to the touch and gives the frame of the entire laptop a great amount of stiffness; none of that bendy nonsense that can be found in some of the $500ish thin-and-light competition. We were also pleasantly surprised to find a antigloss (not quite matte) display under the hood. Unfortunately, the compromises begin with the keyboard, which is a bit bendy and "clacky" (the bad version of "clicky"), and the 6 volt battery gets 4.75 hours as quoted, so probably around three in real life. We're also a little disappointed ~~that the $450 base price rips out the SD card and ExpressCard slots, and~~ that you can't get a Windows 7 version for under $600 -- even though the Ubuntu default is mighty tempting. So, there are compromises, just like in life, but for the most part this is one of the least timid computers we've seen from Dell in a while: not afraid to step on the toes of its brandmates and make a name for itself. Check out a quick video hands-on after the break, and stand by for our review that should hopefully arrive later this month.

Update: We got some bad info, and it turns out that the ExpressCard and SD card slots do come standard with the laptop -- the mockup we saw didn't have them, but all shipping models will. Phew!
Dell Vostro V13 hands-on

MSI X-slim X350 review @ hothardware.com

2009-12-19T07:13:00.001-08:00