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>Linux worked out of the box. I had to install non-free drivers for the Broadcom wireless card, then tweak a few module options to get better power saving. Thi

by tormeh 8y ago

>Linux worked out of the box. I had to install non-free drivers for the Broadcom wireless card, then tweak a few module options to get better power saving. This is not, for the record, "working out of the box".

sametmax 8y ago
Yeah but after that, he never had any problem with it, except sleep mode cutting wifi sometimes. Or bluetooth not pairing. Or the battery lasting half as expected. Nothing that a few commands can't fix. Zero maintenance.
- andrepd 8y ago
  Hilarious. Of course, he mentioned no such problems. So please cease the straw man.
  - sametmax 8y ago
    I'm writing that from Ubuntu. It's good to have a little self derision.
- taf2 8y ago
  This reminds me of a flash cartoon that circulated around 2001 or 2002 with a guy flying through air talking about all he had to do is mod probe or patch his kernel and was like a wizard in the classic kind of flash style animation... I wish I still had the flash file or someone could recreate it in a viewable format for today...
  - maxerickson 8y ago
    Maybe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LsxmQV8AXk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LsxmQV8AXk
    - taf2 8y ago
      Yes thank you!
viach 8y ago
> then tweak a few module options to get better power saving What, what these options are? Is there an answer to the mystery of "how to get power management working on a Linux laptop?".
- saagarjha 8y ago
  > Is there an answer to the mystery of "how to get power management working on a Linux laptop?" Or even the easier question “how to get power management working on your Linux laptop”?
  - viach 8y ago
    I seriously think this is the main problem of "Linux on Desktop". Just stop the cooler spinning all the time that's it - Desktop War is won, Win and Mac are packing their stuff and go home.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- c0l0 8y ago
  sudo powertop --quiet --auto-tune
- Twirrim 8y ago
  I haven't been using a Linux laptop for about 3 years now (Ended up with a Mac at my current job, which 3 years in I still don't really like all that much). Back when I did, I found the package laptop-mode-tools to be quite effective. It tunes a bunch of things when you're off A/C, and can be adjusted to control a number of other things. https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/bionic/+package/laptop-mode-tools https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/bionic/+package/laptop-mode-too... On my mac, I've got HammerSpoon configured to change a bunch of things depending on power levels, sleep state etc, including killing off Slack.
jokoon 8y ago
The lenovo website lets you custom the hardware, and I chose a non broadcom, so an intel chip I think.
xaduha 8y ago
> This is not, for the record, "working out of the box". I have no doubt that some other distros would work just fine without any changes, you're nitpicking.
- no-such-address 8y ago
  Ha ha very funny. Yes, just try a lot of other distros until you find one that works, maybe.
  - xaduha 8y ago
    Point is that you don't need to, you can make any distro work. "Working out of the box" for Linux doesn't have the same meaning as for Windows. If you're a buying a custom motherboard for an old notebook that's nothing.
    - chronolitus 8y ago
      I love linux but damn, way to shift the goalposts. edit: Does any one else feel that redefining "working out of the box" to mean the opposite "just for linux", hurts linux's reputation more than just saying something non-hyperbolic, like it "works with a surprisingly minimal amount of driver treasure-hunt"? As a tangent, I wonder if this applies to other things. if BMW users tell you "when talking about BMWs the term low-maintenance refers to not having your engine explode every 10k miles. With that in mind, BMWs are very low-maintenance", are you less likely to buy one than if they say "well there's a little more required maintenance than some other manufacturers, but as long as you do it the car is very reliable."?
      - xaduha 8y ago
        Linux isn't just one thing. In a parallel universe he used a different distro and didn't have any issues. That says nothing about whether or not this piece of hardware is a good purchase or how good it is supported in general.
- saagarjha 8y ago
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
0815test 8y ago
Meh, if the non-free blobs are included as part of the distro (as they are with the Debian 'non-free' channel, similar to Ubuntu) it's as good as we've ever going to get. Even Intel wifi cards rely on a non-free firmware blob, and will only work with "non-free" Debian.

by tormeh 8y ago

sametmax 8y ago

Yeah but after that, he never had any problem with it, except sleep mode cutting wifi sometimes. Or bluetooth not pairing. Or the battery lasting half as expected. Nothing that a few commands can't fix. Zero maintenance.

andrepd 8y ago
Hilarious. Of course, he mentioned no such problems. So please cease the straw man.
- sametmax 8y ago
  I'm writing that from Ubuntu. It's good to have a little self derision.
taf2 8y ago
This reminds me of a flash cartoon that circulated around 2001 or 2002 with a guy flying through air talking about all he had to do is mod probe or patch his kernel and was like a wizard in the classic kind of flash style animation... I wish I still had the flash file or someone could recreate it in a viewable format for today...
- maxerickson 8y ago
  Maybe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LsxmQV8AXk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LsxmQV8AXk
  - taf2 8y ago
    Yes thank you!

viach 8y ago

> then tweak a few module options to get better power saving What, what these options are? Is there an answer to the mystery of "how to get power management working on a Linux laptop?".

saagarjha 8y ago
> Is there an answer to the mystery of "how to get power management working on a Linux laptop?" Or even the easier question “how to get power management working on your Linux laptop”?
- viach 8y ago
  I seriously think this is the main problem of "Linux on Desktop". Just stop the cooler spinning all the time that's it - Desktop War is won, Win and Mac are packing their stuff and go home.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
c0l0 8y ago
sudo powertop --quiet --auto-tune
Twirrim 8y ago
I haven't been using a Linux laptop for about 3 years now (Ended up with a Mac at my current job, which 3 years in I still don't really like all that much). Back when I did, I found the package laptop-mode-tools to be quite effective. It tunes a bunch of things when you're off A/C, and can be adjusted to control a number of other things. https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/bionic/+package/laptop-mode-tools https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/bionic/+package/laptop-mode-too... On my mac, I've got HammerSpoon configured to change a bunch of things depending on power levels, sleep state etc, including killing off Slack.

jokoon 8y ago

The lenovo website lets you custom the hardware, and I chose a non broadcom, so an intel chip I think.

xaduha 8y ago

> This is not, for the record, "working out of the box". I have no doubt that some other distros would work just fine without any changes, you're nitpicking.

no-such-address 8y ago
Ha ha very funny. Yes, just try a lot of other distros until you find one that works, maybe.
- xaduha 8y ago
  Point is that you don't need to, you can make any distro work. "Working out of the box" for Linux doesn't have the same meaning as for Windows. If you're a buying a custom motherboard for an old notebook that's nothing.
  - chronolitus 8y ago
    I love linux but damn, way to shift the goalposts. edit: Does any one else feel that redefining "working out of the box" to mean the opposite "just for linux", hurts linux's reputation more than just saying something non-hyperbolic, like it "works with a surprisingly minimal amount of driver treasure-hunt"? As a tangent, I wonder if this applies to other things. if BMW users tell you "when talking about BMWs the term low-maintenance refers to not having your engine explode every 10k miles. With that in mind, BMWs are very low-maintenance", are you less likely to buy one than if they say "well there's a little more required maintenance than some other manufacturers, but as long as you do it the car is very reliable."?
    - xaduha 8y ago
      Linux isn't just one thing. In a parallel universe he used a different distro and didn't have any issues. That says nothing about whether or not this piece of hardware is a good purchase or how good it is supported in general.
saagarjha 8y ago

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

0815test 8y ago

Meh, if the non-free blobs are included as part of the distro (as they are with the Debian 'non-free' channel, similar to Ubuntu) it's as good as we've ever going to get. Even Intel wifi cards rely on a non-free firmware blob, and will only work with "non-free" Debian.