Linux Driver _Improvement_ Project? [LWN.net]

Linux Driver _Improvement_ Project?

Posted Apr 8, 2008 18:15 UTC (Tue) by jmorris42 (subscriber, #2203)
In reply to: Linux Driver _Improvement_ Project? by jwb
Parent article: A Linux Driver Project status report

> ..how about a Linux Driver Improvement Project that focused on getting
> more features of more devices working correctly?

Amen!  Lots of hardware sorta works but once you leave server land 'sorta works' is more the
rule than the exception.

Power management is the BIG elephant in the room, it is now finally getting some long overdue
attention but we are probably still a few years away from parity with Windows.

Laptops are a big black hole of driver issues.  ACPI, docking, power, sleep mode, winmodems,
oddball almost compatible devices.  I see vendor loaded laptops that don't support everything.
I'd offer up a goat in sacrifice to the computer demons if somebody could identify a half
dozen (need some variety in size/weight/features) current production business laptops that are
100% supported.  By business class I'm talking about reasonably durable, dockable a big plus,
WiFi+Ethernet+modem for networking, support contracts (from the vendor, not Worst Buy)
available, etc. More Thinkpad, less Dell Hell.

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e.g. Thinkpad T60p - very well supported.

Posted Apr 9, 2008 12:15 UTC (Wed) by rankincj (subscriber, #4865) [Link]

Core 2 Duo, dockable, ethernet, wifi, onboard Intel sound, ATI onboard M66 video (which is
definitely "getting there" since AMD opened up the GPU specifications), fingerprint reader,
bluetooth: all working. The only issue is the modem, which I haven't even tried to use, but
which I think that I saw some Suse drivers for somewhere.

When docked, the serial and parallel kernel modules all "magically" load, the ethernet port
transparently hands over from the laptop to the docking station, and the docking station's
memory card reader is a USB mass-storage device and "just works" anyway.

So why say "More Thinkpad, less Dell Hell" when you could just buy a Thinkpad?

e.g. Thinkpad T60p - very well supported.

Posted Apr 9, 2008 20:29 UTC (Wed) by jmorris42 (subscriber, #2203) [Link]

> So why say "More Thinkpad, less Dell Hell" when you could just buy a Thinkpad?

So it ALL works?  Can you undock?

My X31 only partly works on the dock.  The DVD/DCRW only works at 4X CD speeds, the USB ports
on the dock don't work, the PC-Card slots don't work.  But the network, video, serial, floppy
and sound do.  Can't find any way to trigger an undock.

A coworker's T60 is in the same 'almost works' catagory.  It will sorta dock (network may or
may not attach) but won't undock.

e.g. Thinkpad T60p - very well supported.

Posted Apr 9, 2008 23:47 UTC (Wed) by rankincj (subscriber, #4865) [Link]

The USB and network ports on the dock all work fine, and I haven't installed any drive into
the dock's multi-drive bay yet. (It will probably be an extra hard drive eventually, though -
the laptop already has a DVD drive.) There is no PC Card on the dock because there's one on
the laptop already, but that works too and currently has an Audigy2 ZS Notebook card in it.
The microphone for this Audigy2 card does not work, but that's apparently a known ALSA bug
rather than a laptop problem.

So far, I have only needed to dock and undock "cold", but doing so "hot" looks to be a matter
of turning a key, pressing a button and then pressing a second "eject" button when a light
turns green. I have not tried this yet, because I haven't needed to.

Linux Driver _Improvement_ Project?

Posted Apr 9, 2008 17:19 UTC (Wed) by bersl2 (subscriber, #34928) [Link]

>Power management is the BIG elephant in the room, it is now finally getting some long overdue
>attention but we are probably still a few years away from parity with Windows.

PowerTOP helped make great strides in that area. I would say that it's not the Big One
anymore, but then again, my laptop's been out of commission for months now.