[Cialug] HP dv2210us laptop presentation update

[kristau]

An update on some things I've found out since my presentation at the
last meeting.

LCD brightness adjustment keys crashing X:
Kevin C. Smith pointed me in the right direction on this one
(thanks!).  It seems to effect multiple brands and models of laptops
under Ubuntu (and probably other distros).  If you blacklist the video
module (this is done in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist), then the crash
doesn't happen any more.  The keys to adjust brightness still don't
work for me, but at least it doesn't crash.  I did find a couple of
work-arounds, though.  Before the OS loads (during Grub or CMOS/BIOS
splash), you can adjust the brightness with the function keys.  After
the OS has loaded, you can use nvidia-settings utility to adjust
brightness.  Not as convenient, but better than the alternative!

SecondLife linux client:
The SL linux client doesn't support 64-bit right out of the box, but
the fix was pretty easy.  I implemented the following and it worked
for me, minus sound:
+++
"The Second Life client is a 32 bit application. Due to the nature how
libraries work, you must provide 32 bit libraries for 32 bit
applications and 64 bit libraries for 64 bit applications. On 64 bit
linux systems you need to install the 32 bit compatibility versions of
all the libraries Second Life needs."

$ cd /path_to_secondlife/lib $ sudo wget
http://romanoblog.free.fr/telechargements/libuuid.so.1
+++
URL: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=301790&page=3&highlight=secondlife+libuuid

Virtual Consoles and Susped/Hibernate:
I had mentioned that VC's weren't working very well.  It seems Ubuntu
loads some funky console fonts on boot up which were not working well
with my video card.  I tracked down the init script that makes these
changes, disabled it and now not only do the VC's work but hibernate
and sleep work great, too!  The offending init script was
/etc/init.d/console-setup.  Right now I have it set to ask me what
resolution I want ('vga=ask' added to the kernel boot options in
grub), but I will probably set this to 80x50 eventually.

Other, miscellany:
The sleep function and lock function buttons work just fine, I
discovered.  I like having a lock hot key to call the screen saver in
locked mode.  I've not properly tested the battery life yet, but now
that I've got the screen dimming function working I will try to do
that soon.  Still, I've been averaging a little over two hours with
the screen at full bright.  Express card slot is still not tested.  I
have the hardware to test it (a card reader) but I've just not been
motivated to try it out since the on-board card reader works just
fine.  RealPlayer and Flash Player don't work.  I got RealPlayer to
install, but it doesn't put out any audio.  Flash Player complains
that there is no 64-bit linux edition when I launch the installer.

That's all for now!
-- 
Tired programmer
Coding late into the night
The core dump follows

My GNUPG public key is available at http://www.kristau.net/public_key.asc