[SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
Hi all, So I made the move and bought it. Here are my findings: *Maker + Model:* Acer 5738ZG. That's a little upgraded in comparison to the original model suggested - with 4GB RAM and NVIDIA GPU. The rest of the specs are the same. *Distro Installed: *Ubuntu 9.04, amd64.* * *Wifi:* worked out of the box (atheros). *Touchpad:* Worked out of the box, but disabling it and then trying to enable it - it is not enabled, until X (or was it machine?) restart. Anybody got a link for a solution? *Card Reader:* Worked out of the box, at least with SD card (didn't try other types). *X: *This laptop model is equipped with NVIDIA G105M chipset. I didn't work out of the box: ubuntu installed its latest nvidia drivers but those were too old to know this card. When vesa or some other default driver was used, X run, but not in optimal resolution and no acceleration. I battled it too much apparently and all you need to do is install the latest drivers from nvidia (185), skipping the ubuntu repos driver, and use a nice(?) xorg.conf I've found on the web (for laptops with my GPU/screen specs). *Power management:* with the nvidia driver mentioned above used, power management worked perfectly. I configured my laptop to do as I wish upon lead closing (for AC/battery) and it works smoothly. CPU Scaling was also perfectly supported. *Bluetooth? *not on this model. just ordered a tiny BT USB dongle. Hope that it works... . *WebCam:* not working out of the box. Haven't really tried setting it up yet. *Sound:* worked out of the box. *Anything else? *mail me for questions... . Boaz. Boaz Rymland wrote: Hi all, Can anyone provide feedback on the following Acer laptop, or any other Acer Linux based laptops? (Interestingly, searching for linux word in laptop section in zap.co.il shows almost exclusively only Acer results: http://zap.co.il/models.aspx?sog=C-PCLaptopkeyword=linux). In specific - how well all hardware goodies work in linux - power management/scaling, wifi, bluetooth, card reader, X, etc etc... The model is *Acer Aspire AS5738Z-422G25MN*. It comes with Intel Dual Core T4200 and Intel GMA 4500. Thanks, Boaz. ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: [SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
On Fri, 2009-09-04 at 09:19 +0300, Boaz Rymland wrote: WebCam: not working out of the box. Haven't really tried setting it up yet. From my limited experience, the gspca driver (for several Webcam models) does not work nicely with NViDia proprietary drivers. For my new desktop PC (which I already ordered and should receive next week), I specified an ATI display card. --- Omer -- Kosher Cellphones (cellphones with blocked SMS, video and Internet) are menace to the deaf. They must be outlawed! (See also: http://www.zak.co.il/tddpirate/2006/04/21/the-grave-danger-to-the-deaf-from-kosher-cellphones/ and http://www.zak.co.il/tddpirate/2007/02/04/rabbi-eliashiv-declared-war-on-the-deaf/) My own blog is at http://www.zak.co.il/tddpirate/ My opinions, as expressed in this E-mail message, are mine alone. They do not represent the official policy of any organization with which I may be affiliated in any way. WARNING TO SPAMMERS: at http://www.zak.co.il/spamwarning.html ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: [SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
On Friday 04 September 2009 02:19:23 Boaz Rymland wrote: [clip] *Maker + Model:* Acer 5738ZG. That's a little upgraded in comparison to the original model suggested - with 4GB RAM and NVIDIA GPU. The rest of the specs are the same. *Distro Installed: *Ubuntu 9.04, amd64.* [clip] *X: *This laptop model is equipped with NVIDIA G105M chipset. I didn't work out of the box: ubuntu installed its latest nvidia drivers but those were too old to know this card. When vesa or some other default driver was used, X run, but not in optimal resolution and no acceleration. I battled it too much apparently and all you need to do is install the latest drivers from nvidia (185), skipping the ubuntu repos driver, and use a nice(?) xorg.conf I've found on the web (for laptops with my GPU/screen specs). [clip] *Anything else? *mail me for questions... . I'd like to see you post exactly what you did in order to get X running. Where did you get the drivers? Where in your filesystem did you put them? How did you tell Ubuntu's package manager they were custom? Did you alter System- Administration-software_sources? What's the URL of the xorg.conf? The process you used is a somewhat generic solution to the ongoing problem of video hardware that's newer than the distribution. I REALLY appreciate the fact that you took the time to post your [SOLVED] solution. When googling for error messages, I typically get 50 questions for every answer. Most people, upon answering it for themselves, don't consider others trying to walk the same path. Thanks SteveT Steve Litt Recession Relief Package http://www.recession-relief.US Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stevelitt ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: [SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
IMHO, that should be the standard practice for open source minded people (and in general - non-commercial mindset people), even if not zealously practiced. Boaz. Steve Litt wrote: On Friday 04 September 2009 02:19:23 Boaz Rymland wrote: [clip] *Maker + Model:* Acer 5738ZG. That's a little upgraded in comparison to the original model suggested - with 4GB RAM and NVIDIA GPU. The rest of the specs are the same. *Distro Installed: *Ubuntu 9.04, amd64.* [clip] *X: *This laptop model is equipped with NVIDIA G105M chipset. I didn't work out of the box: ubuntu installed its latest nvidia drivers but those were too old to know this card. When vesa or some other default driver was used, X run, but not in optimal resolution and no acceleration. I battled it too much apparently and all you need to do is install the latest drivers from nvidia (185), skipping the ubuntu repos driver, and use a nice(?) xorg.conf I've found on the web (for laptops with my GPU/screen specs). [clip] *Anything else? *mail me for questions... . I'd like to see you post exactly what you did in order to get X running. Where did you get the drivers? Where in your filesystem did you put them? How did you tell Ubuntu's package manager they were custom? Did you alter System- Administration-software_sources? What's the URL of the xorg.conf? The process you used is a somewhat generic solution to the ongoing problem of video hardware that's newer than the distribution. I REALLY appreciate the fact that you took the time to post your [SOLVED] solution. When googling for error messages, I typically get 50 questions for every answer. Most people, upon answering it for themselves, don't consider others trying to walk the same path. Thanks SteveT Steve Litt Recession Relief Package http://www.recession-relief.US Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stevelitt ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: [SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
Steve Litt wrote: On Friday 04 September 2009 02:19:23 Boaz Rymland wrote: [clip] *Maker + Model:* Acer 5738ZG. That's a little upgraded in comparison to the original model suggested - with 4GB RAM and NVIDIA GPU. The rest of the specs are the same. *Distro Installed: *Ubuntu 9.04, amd64.* [clip] *X: *This laptop model is equipped with NVIDIA G105M chipset. I didn't work out of the box: ubuntu installed its latest nvidia drivers but those were too old to know this card. When vesa or some other default driver was used, X run, but not in optimal resolution and no acceleration. I battled it too much apparently and all you need to do is install the latest drivers from nvidia (185), skipping the ubuntu repos driver, and use a nice(?) xorg.conf I've found on the web (for laptops with my GPU/screen specs). [clip] *Anything else? *mail me for questions... . I'd like to see you post exactly what you did in order to get X running. Where did you get the drivers? Where in your filesystem did you put them? How did you tell Ubuntu's package manager they were custom? Did you alter System- More details on getting X to work: At first I tried to use ubuntu's (System-Administration-Hardware drivers) identification of the hardware that would typically result in suggestion to use nvidia propriety drivers. It did, and I went with it suggestion. Version 180 (IIRC) of the nvidia drivers was installed but all It didn't work - I got corrupted 6 windows instead of one nice LED-lit screen :-) Next, I realized and saw on the web (and docs) that version 180 of the drivers do not support my relatively new GPU. I decided to give nv drivers a shot. I'm not a gamer anyhow. nv didn't work nice with my screen - I failed to see the full resolution of it. Maybe I could have make it work with nv, but I saw it simply takes too much time so... After sawing on nvnews.net (forums) that my GPU is supported (beta? don't recall) in version 185 of the drivers (which is to this time the latest stable nvidia release of drivers for linux) I decided to install it. You download a nice binary from their site. Its a self contained installer that you just need to run as root. There's a wizard there that collects your answers and preferences, and does the rest, including all. Ubuntu package manager on the laptop is not aware of this package. That's the downside of course. Note that their installer installed binaries all over the system, installs a kernel module, overwrites (asks permission to) your xorg.conf and more, so its quite obtrusive. But, AFAIK their installer job-quality is ok and has an uninstall feature that actually works (as far as I can recall from the past). Like mentioned before I still downloaded an xorg.conf suggested on nvnews.net forums and only after using it everything worked ok. Mail me if you need it. cest tout. Boaz. ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: [SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
I'd love to know if the Arduino IDE and FTDI USB serial port drivers function properly. Do you have an Arduino, or can you borrow one from someone to test? Of course the first part (Arduino IDE) can be downloaded for free and tested. IIRC Ubuntu 9.04 includes the FTDI driver already. Thanks! Michael Boaz Rymland wrote: Hi all, So I made the move and bought it. Here are my findings: *Maker + Model:* Acer 5738ZG. That's a little upgraded in comparison to the original model suggested - with 4GB RAM and NVIDIA GPU. The rest of the specs are the same. *Distro Installed: *Ubuntu 9.04, amd64.* * *Wifi:* worked out of the box (atheros). *Touchpad:* Worked out of the box, but disabling it and then trying to enable it - it is not enabled, until X (or was it machine?) restart. Anybody got a link for a solution? *Card Reader:* Worked out of the box, at least with SD card (didn't try other types). *X: *This laptop model is equipped with NVIDIA G105M chipset. I didn't work out of the box: ubuntu installed its latest nvidia drivers but those were too old to know this card. When vesa or some other default driver was used, X run, but not in optimal resolution and no acceleration. I battled it too much apparently and all you need to do is install the latest drivers from nvidia (185), skipping the ubuntu repos driver, and use a nice(?) xorg.conf I've found on the web (for laptops with my GPU/screen specs). *Power management:* with the nvidia driver mentioned above used, power management worked perfectly. I configured my laptop to do as I wish upon lead closing (for AC/battery) and it works smoothly. CPU Scaling was also perfectly supported. *Bluetooth? *not on this model. just ordered a tiny BT USB dongle. Hope that it works... . *WebCam:* not working out of the box. Haven't really tried setting it up yet. *Sound:* worked out of the box. *Anything else? *mail me for questions... . Boaz. Boaz Rymland wrote: Hi all, Can anyone provide feedback on the following Acer laptop, or any other Acer Linux based laptops? (Interestingly, searching for linux word in laptop section in zap.co.il shows almost exclusively only Acer results: http://zap.co.il/models.aspx?sog=C-PCLaptopkeyword=linux http://zap.co.il/models.aspx?sog=C-PCLaptopkeyword=linux). In specific - how well all hardware goodies work in linux - power management/scaling, wifi, bluetooth, card reader, X, etc etc... The model is *Acer Aspire AS5738Z-422G25MN*. It comes with Intel Dual Core T4200 and Intel GMA 4500. Thanks, Boaz. ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il mailto:Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: [SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
Michael Shiloh wrote: I'd love to know if the Arduino IDE and FTDI USB serial port drivers function properly. Do you have an Arduino, or can you borrow one from someone to test? Possibly I have one - I just need to know how it looks like to figure that out :-) What's that? This?: http://www.arduino.cc/ . If so, then I don't have one. If you have that thing and want me to plug it into the USB, mail me privately to see if its possible. Boaz. Of course the first part (Arduino IDE) can be downloaded for free and tested. IIRC Ubuntu 9.04 includes the FTDI driver already. Thanks! Michael Boaz Rymland wrote: Hi all, So I made the move and bought it. Here are my findings: *Maker + Model:* Acer 5738ZG. That's a little upgraded in comparison to the original model suggested - with 4GB RAM and NVIDIA GPU. The rest of the specs are the same. *Distro Installed: *Ubuntu 9.04, amd64.* * *Wifi:* worked out of the box (atheros). *Touchpad:* Worked out of the box, but disabling it and then trying to enable it - it is not enabled, until X (or was it machine?) restart. Anybody got a link for a solution? *Card Reader:* Worked out of the box, at least with SD card (didn't try other types). *X: *This laptop model is equipped with NVIDIA G105M chipset. I didn't work out of the box: ubuntu installed its latest nvidia drivers but those were too old to know this card. When vesa or some other default driver was used, X run, but not in optimal resolution and no acceleration. I battled it too much apparently and all you need to do is install the latest drivers from nvidia (185), skipping the ubuntu repos driver, and use a nice(?) xorg.conf I've found on the web (for laptops with my GPU/screen specs). *Power management:* with the nvidia driver mentioned above used, power management worked perfectly. I configured my laptop to do as I wish upon lead closing (for AC/battery) and it works smoothly. CPU Scaling was also perfectly supported. *Bluetooth? *not on this model. just ordered a tiny BT USB dongle. Hope that it works... . *WebCam:* not working out of the box. Haven't really tried setting it up yet. *Sound:* worked out of the box. *Anything else? *mail me for questions... . Boaz. Boaz Rymland wrote: Hi all, Can anyone provide feedback on the following Acer laptop, or any other Acer Linux based laptops? (Interestingly, searching for linux word in laptop section in zap.co.il shows almost exclusively only Acer results: http://zap.co.il/models.aspx?sog=C-PCLaptopkeyword=linux http://zap.co.il/models.aspx?sog=C-PCLaptopkeyword=linux). In specific - how well all hardware goodies work in linux - power management/scaling, wifi, bluetooth, card reader, X, etc etc... The model is *Acer Aspire AS5738Z-422G25MN*. It comes with Intel Dual Core T4200 and Intel GMA 4500. Thanks, Boaz. ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il mailto:Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
Re: [SOLVED?] Re: Feedback on Acer laptop w. Linux
Boaz Rymland wrote: Michael Shiloh wrote: I'd love to know if the Arduino IDE and FTDI USB serial port drivers function properly. Do you have an Arduino, or can you borrow one from someone to test? Possibly I have one - I just need to know how it looks like to figure that out :-) What's that? This?: http://www.arduino.cc/ . Yes, that's it. If so, then I don't have one. If you have that thing and want me to plug it into the USB, mail me privately to see if its possible. Will do. Michael ___ Linux-il mailing list Linux-il@cs.huji.ac.il http://mailman.cs.huji.ac.il/mailman/listinfo/linux-il
