+
How to test if a laptop is working with Linux
+
2010-12-22 08:20
+
+
The last few days I have spent at work here at the University of oslo testing if the new
+batch of computers will work with Linux. Every year for the last few
+years the university have organized shared bid of a few thousand
+computers, and this year HP won the bid. Two different desktops and
+five different laptops are on the list this year. We in the UNIX
+group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL
+and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the
+university.
+
+
My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and
+perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well. To test, I PXE
+install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run
+a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware. When
+something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move
+on. If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS
+vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely
+have the time to do this for all the problems I find.
+
+
Anyway, to get to the point of this post. Here is the simple tests
+I perform on a new model.
+
+
+
+- Is PXE installation working? I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid
+and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment. If I feel like it, I also test with
+RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze.
+
+- Is X.org working? If the graphical login screen show up after
+installation, X.org is working.
+
+- Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working? Running glxgears (in
+package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second
+reported by the program.
+
+- Is sound working? With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when
+logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful. If there
+are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if
+the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound. I
+normally test this by playing
+a HTML5
+video in Firefox/Iceweasel.
+
+- Is the USB subsystem working? I test this by plugging in a USB
+memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.
+
+- Is the CD/DVD player working? I test this by inserting any CD/DVD
+I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.
+
+- Is any built in camera working? Test using cheese, and see if a
+picture from the v4l device show up.
+
+- Is bluetooth working? Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if
+any bluetooth devices are discovered. In my office, I normally see a
+few.
+
+- For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working. I have
+memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE
+notice this.
+
+- For laptops, is suspecd/hibernate working? I'm testing if the
+special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after
+resume.
+
+- For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level,
+adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output,
+switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc? The set of buttons differ from
+laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are
+not.
+
+- Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers,
+acceleration sensors etc. I rarely test these, as I do not know how
+to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their
+existence.
+
+
+
+
By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are
+for the HP machines I am testing. I'm not done yet, so I will report
+the test results later. For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work
+fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid,
+and audio fail on RHEL6. Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p. As you
+can see, I have most machines left to test. One interesting
+observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the framerate than
+RHEL6 with glxgears. No idea why.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
diff --git a/blog/Hva_er_egentlig_en___pen_standard_.html b/blog/Hva_er_egentlig_en___pen_standard_.html
index c2ccbf1119..e126b4943f 100644
--- a/blog/Hva_er_egentlig_en___pen_standard_.html
+++ b/blog/Hva_er_egentlig_en___pen_standard_.html
@@ -214,13 +214,13 @@ av en standard for at en standard skal kunne kalles fri og åpen.
-
-
- 2010-12-10 08:20
-
-
-
-
-
With this weeks lawless
-governmental
-attacks on Wikileak and
-free
-speech, it has become obvious that PayPal, visa and mastercard can
-not be trusted to handle money transactions.
-A blog post from
-Simon
-Phipps on bitcoin reminded me about a project that a friend of
-mine mentioned earlier. I decided to follow Simon's example, and get
-involved with BitCoin. I got
-some help from my friend to get it all running, and he even handed me
-some bitcoins to get started. I even donated a few bitcoins to Simon
-for helping me remember BitCoin.
-
-
So, what is bitcoins, you probably wonder? It is a digital
-crypto-currency, decentralised and handled using peer-to-peer
-networks. It allows anonymous transactions and prohibits central
-control over the transactions, making it impossible for governments
-and companies alike to block donations and other transactions. The
-source is free software, and while the key dependency wxWidgets 2.9
-for the graphical user interface is missing in Debian, the command
-line client builds just fine. Hopefully Jonas
-will get the package into
-Debian soon.
-
-
Bitcoins can be converted to other currencies, like USD and EUR.
-There are companies accepting
-bitcoins when selling services and goods, and there are even
-currency "stock" markets where the exchange rate is decided. There
-are not many users so far, but the concept seems promising. If you
-want to get started and lack a friend with any bitcoins to spare,
-you can even get
-some for free (0.05
-bitcoin at the time of writing). Use
-BitcoinWatch to keep an eye
-on the current exchange rates.
-
-
As an experiment, I have decided to set up bitcoind on one of my
-machines. If you want to support my activity, please send Bitcoin
-donations to the address
-15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b. Thank you!
-
-
-
-
-
+
+
+
+ 2010-12-22 14:55
+
+
+
+
+
The last few days I have spent at work here at the University of oslo testing if the new
+batch of computers will work with Linux. Every year for the last few
+years the university have organized shared bid of a few thousand
+computers, and this year HP won the bid. Two different desktops and
+five different laptops are on the list this year. We in the UNIX
+group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL
+and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the
+university.
+
+
My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and
+perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well. To test, I PXE
+install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run
+a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware. When
+something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move
+on. If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS
+vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely
+have the time to do this for all the problems I find.
+
+
Anyway, to get to the point of this post. Here is the simple tests
+I perform on a new model.
+
+
+
+- Is PXE installation working? I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid
+and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment. If I feel like it, I also test with
+RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze.
+
+- Is X.org working? If the graphical login screen show up after
+installation, X.org is working.
+
+- Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working? Running glxgears (in
+package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second
+reported by the program.
+
+- Is sound working? With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when
+logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful. If there
+are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if
+the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound. I
+normally test this by playing
+a HTML5
+video in Firefox/Iceweasel.
+
+- Is the USB subsystem working? I test this by plugging in a USB
+memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.
+
+- Is the CD/DVD player working? I test this by inserting any CD/DVD
+I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.
+
+- Is any built in camera working? Test using cheese, and see if a
+picture from the v4l device show up.
+
+- Is bluetooth working? Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if
+any bluetooth devices are discovered. In my office, I normally see a
+few.
+
+- For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working. I have
+memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE
+notice this.
+
+- For laptops, is suspecd/hibernate working? I'm testing if the
+special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after
+resume.
+
+- For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level,
+adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output,
+switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc? The set of buttons differ from
+laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are
+not.
+
+- Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers,
+acceleration sensors etc. I rarely test these, as I do not know how
+to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their
+existence.
+
+
+
+
By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are
+for the HP machines I am testing. I'm not done yet, so I will report
+the test results later. For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work
+fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid,
+and audio fail on RHEL6. Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p. As you
+can see, I have most machines left to test. One interesting
+observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the framerate than
+RHEL6 with glxgears. No idea why.
+
+
+
+
+
+

@@ -430,13 +473,13 @@ equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.
aros (1)
-
bitcoin (2)
+
bitcoin (1)
bootsystem (10)
debian (45)
-
debian edu (52)
+
debian edu (53)
english (76)
@@ -460,7 +503,7 @@ equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.
opphavsrett (18)
-
personvern (30)
+
personvern (29)
reprap (11)
@@ -468,7 +511,7 @@ equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.
rss (1)
-
sikkerhet (22)
+
sikkerhet (21)
sitesummary (3)
diff --git a/blog/index.html b/blog/index.html
index 6db1c48d6a..fe3f46cc65 100644
--- a/blog/index.html
+++ b/blog/index.html
@@ -19,6 +19,106 @@
+
+
+
2010-12-22 14:55
+
+
The last few days I have spent at work here at the University of oslo testing if the new
+batch of computers will work with Linux. Every year for the last few
+years the university have organized shared bid of a few thousand
+computers, and this year HP won the bid. Two different desktops and
+five different laptops are on the list this year. We in the UNIX
+group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL
+and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the
+university.
+
+
My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and
+perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well. To test, I PXE
+install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run
+a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware. When
+something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move
+on. If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS
+vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely
+have the time to do this for all the problems I find.
+
+
Anyway, to get to the point of this post. Here is the simple tests
+I perform on a new model.
+
+
+
+- Is PXE installation working? I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid
+and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment. If I feel like it, I also test with
+RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze.
+
+- Is X.org working? If the graphical login screen show up after
+installation, X.org is working.
+
+- Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working? Running glxgears (in
+package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second
+reported by the program.
+
+- Is sound working? With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when
+logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful. If there
+are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if
+the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound. I
+normally test this by playing
+a HTML5
+video in Firefox/Iceweasel.
+
+- Is the USB subsystem working? I test this by plugging in a USB
+memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.
+
+- Is the CD/DVD player working? I test this by inserting any CD/DVD
+I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.
+
+- Is any built in camera working? Test using cheese, and see if a
+picture from the v4l device show up.
+
+- Is bluetooth working? Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if
+any bluetooth devices are discovered. In my office, I normally see a
+few.
+
+- For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working. I have
+memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE
+notice this.
+
+- For laptops, is suspecd/hibernate working? I'm testing if the
+special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after
+resume.
+
+- For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level,
+adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output,
+switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc? The set of buttons differ from
+laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are
+not.
+
+- Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers,
+acceleration sensors etc. I rarely test these, as I do not know how
+to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their
+existence.
+
+
+
+
By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are
+for the HP machines I am testing. I'm not done yet, so I will report
+the test results later. For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work
+fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid,
+and audio fail on RHEL6. Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p. As you
+can see, I have most machines left to test. One interesting
+observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the framerate than
+RHEL6 with glxgears. No idea why.
+
+
+
+
+
2010-12-11 15:10
@@ -143,63 +243,6 @@ kan.
-
-
-
2010-12-10 08:20
-
-
With this weeks lawless
-governmental
-attacks on Wikileak and
-free
-speech, it has become obvious that PayPal, visa and mastercard can
-not be trusted to handle money transactions.
-A blog post from
-Simon
-Phipps on bitcoin reminded me about a project that a friend of
-mine mentioned earlier. I decided to follow Simon's example, and get
-involved with BitCoin. I got
-some help from my friend to get it all running, and he even handed me
-some bitcoins to get started. I even donated a few bitcoins to Simon
-for helping me remember BitCoin.
-
-
So, what is bitcoins, you probably wonder? It is a digital
-crypto-currency, decentralised and handled using peer-to-peer
-networks. It allows anonymous transactions and prohibits central
-control over the transactions, making it impossible for governments
-and companies alike to block donations and other transactions. The
-source is free software, and while the key dependency wxWidgets 2.9
-for the graphical user interface is missing in Debian, the command
-line client builds just fine. Hopefully Jonas
-will get the package into
-Debian soon.
-
-
Bitcoins can be converted to other currencies, like USD and EUR.
-There are companies accepting
-bitcoins when selling services and goods, and there are even
-currency "stock" markets where the exchange rate is decided. There
-are not many users so far, but the concept seems promising. If you
-want to get started and lack a friend with any bitcoins to spare,
-you can even get
-some for free (0.05
-bitcoin at the time of writing). Use
-BitcoinWatch to keep an eye
-on the current exchange rates.
-
-
As an experiment, I have decided to set up bitcoind on one of my
-machines. If you want to support my activity, please send Bitcoin
-donations to the address
-15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b. Thank you!
-
-
-
-
-
2010-12-09 21:25
@@ -1063,13 +1106,13 @@ seem to work just fine.
aros (1)
-
bitcoin (2)
+
bitcoin (1)
bootsystem (10)
debian (45)
-
debian edu (52)
+
debian edu (53)
english (76)
@@ -1093,7 +1136,7 @@ seem to work just fine.
opphavsrett (18)
-
personvern (30)
+
personvern (29)
reprap (11)
@@ -1101,7 +1144,7 @@ seem to work just fine.
rss (1)
-
sikkerhet (22)
+
sikkerhet (21)
sitesummary (3)
@@ -1120,7 +1163,7 @@ seem to work just fine.
-Created by Chronicle v3.7
+Created by Chronicle v3.2