Live-CD hardware check java applet

[Jo-Erlend Schinstad]

Hello everyone.

Lately, I've been thinking it would be very cool to have an applet on
the download page that could examine the users hardware, compare it to
values in a database and offer advise based on that. Will I be able to
just reboot into the live-session? Maybe I'll have to run
dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg in order to see gdm? Do I need to use
proprietary drivers, and if so, are they included? Things like that.
In order to fill the database with as much information as possible, I
think the users should be asked permission to run the Ubuntu Device
Database application at first boot and after a dist-upgrade. I can't
see any reason why a user would refuse, but the option should be more
available than it is today. I don't know how the Java applet would
collect hardware information, though, but I can't imagine it to be
impossible. The real work would probably be to maintain the database.
Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,

Jo-Erlend Schinstad

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Re: Live-CD hardware check java applet

[Aaron Whitehouse]

 Lately, I've been thinking it would be very cool to have an applet on
 the download page that could examine the users hardware, compare it to
 values in a database and offer advise based on that.

An interesting idea!

 Will I be able to
 just reboot into the live-session?

Well, if the user can't, then it is really a bug that should be fixed.
Unless it is simply a RAM issue. If it is a RAM issue, it would be far
nicer to have the Desktop CD recognise that and degrade gracefully to
a low-memory session (not that it does, but I believe that WUBI is
working on such a low-mem session).

 Maybe I'll have to run
 dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg in order to see gdm?

Again, that sounds like a bug to me.

 Do I need to use
 proprietary drivers, and if so, are they included?

It could be good to know in advance that the machine requires
proprietary drivers. It would only be really important if the user
really cared about such things, or if it could not be made to work
with non-free drivers. If it can be made to work with non-free
drivers, then this should just be a click in the Restricted Drivers
applet.

 The real work would probably be to maintain the database.

There are a lot of improvements that I would like to see to the
Hardware Database. I maintain a LaptopTesting page and would love to
see it tied into the Hardware Database and aggregated by part, not
laptop. That way the information could be collated against the actual
parts and the actual laptop that you use could merely be a 'set' or
'collection' of the parts that you are reporting on. This could then
easily be extended to desktops.

This allows far more data to be collected and ensures that people get
access to all the information on the part they are using (where to get
proprietary drivers etc.) regardless of which make/model of computer
they are using. It additionally means that, immediately after
submitting to the database the parts that make up a new laptop, one
could see voting, comments etc. from the hundreds who use the part in
a different laptop.

See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BetterLaptopTesting

You may also be interested in
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BetterHardwareDatabase?action=fullsearchcontext=180value=hardware+databasetitlesearch=Titles

Aaron

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