The LG T1 express is a laptop with an Intel core processor and a
1440x900 screen. There are variants out there, but these specs apply
to my machine. I bought for the following reasons:
It weighs below 2 kg (according to
the advertising, my electronic scale says 2100 g if I recall
correctly)
The screen is large enough (14")
It has Gigabit ethernet
1 Gb Dual channel 667 MHz memory
Dual core processor
Long battery life
As a bonus, it has firewire, WLAN and many usb ports.
After having used it a couple of months, I must say it is a
wonderful laptop. The keys are very nice, the screen works fine.
Performance is high, but the slow harddrive can be a pain sometimes.
Sometimes there are large latencies compared to what you want. For
instance after kde has started and you wait for konsole to be
responsive.
With the frequency scaling, the computer is silent and still
really fast. The fan however can switch between slow and fast
repeatedly, which can be annoying compared to a constant sound.
I first installed Ibuntu because I could not get debian working.
Then I crashed the computer (physically) and got a new one. This
time, I could not get Ubuntu working but Debian worked instead. No
idea why, when the installers dont work, you are pretty much on your
own. After having used both, I must say I am impressed with the
eye candy and that most things just work in ubuntu. But I am more a
debian type of guy, if you know how I mean... So after getting the
wired network and frequency scaling running in debian, the choice is
easy. If you are an inexperienced linux user, I recommend that you
try Ubuntu first. Then, if you think it is fun, you can try debian.
Performance
If you have any idea on a relevant benchmark, please contact me.
Calculating pi:
pauls@avagadros:~$ time pi 1000000 >/dev/null real
0m12.434s user 0m12.341s sys 0m0.092s
(comparison with a PIV@3GHz:) pauls@voltaire:~$ time pi 1000000
>/dev/null real 0m10.662s user 0m10.245s sys 0m0.308s
Checksum on random data:
pauls@avagadros:~$ time echo `head -c 100000000 </dev/urandom
|md5sum >/dev/null` real 0m27.867s user 0m0.340s sys
0m27.974s
(comparison with a PIV@3GHz:) pauls@voltaire:~$ time echo `head
-c 100000000 </dev/urandom |md5sum >/dev/null` real
0m36.510s user 0m0.344s sys 0m36.374s
Writing to disk:
Seems like disk writing is not the favourite game of this laptop.
pauls@avagadros:~$ time echo `head -c 1000000000 </dev/zero
>/tmp/file` real 1m11.395s user 0m0.276s sys 0m4.384s
(comparison with a PIV@3GHz with a maxtor 7200 rpm 8 Mb
cache:) pauls@voltaire:~$ time echo `head -c 1000000000 </dev/zero
>/tmp/file` real 0m14.267s user 0m0.236s sys 0m4.744s
As standard, win XP comes installed in one big NTFS partition on
the hard drive. I used an Ubuntu install cd to shrink the ntfs
partition on the harddrive. The tool is called ntfs-resize. With free
space available, I used the Debian install CD to get the partitions
right and then installed Debian.
Debian installer
I used a Debian snapshot DVD from the testing distribution (what
was becoming etch, now the stable distribution). Unfortunately, the
wired network card is not recognized by the installer. See the LAN
section on this page. The display was initially not set to the
correct resolution, but that problem went away by itself after an
apt-get update and upgrade.
Display
The installer does not manage to configure the display correctly.
Make sure to install 915resolution. Then proceed with
dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg go for the default options all
the way. /etc/init.d/gdm restart and you are up and running.
(This worked for me, at least) My xorg.conf is here. I
have not tried the external graphics connector yet.
3d accelerated graphics
I installed mesa-utils xlibmesa-dri xlibmesa-gl xlibmesa-glu I
made sure xorg.conf contained dri and glx under section Module Then
to check that everything works:
pauls@avagadros:~$ glxinfo |grep rendering direct rendering:
Yes
(If it says "No", you don't have 3D acceleration.)
Wired LAN
The wired network is an Agere 131 x gigabith ethernet adapter.
There are a few places on the net with instructions, I looked at the
following:
I do not recall every single step, but I have ipw3945d and
wlassistant installed. Maybe I used module-assistant to install
ipw3945, cant remember. To use the network I fire up (in debian) gksu
wlassistant
The solution is to add HWCLOCKPARS=--directisa to
/etc/default/rcS
CPU – frequency and voltage scaling
The laptop has a dualcore processor with speedstep. This is great!
In Ubuntu
To enable it, I installed the 686 kernel. There is an applet in
gnome (rightclick on the top panel, select "add to panel",
then choose "cpu frequency scaling monitor".). To set the
speed manually, you can use cpufreq-selector -f 1833000 to set
the speed to 1.8 GHz. I have the following script
which may be useful for displaying the possible values for frequency
setting. The speed of the dual core is impressing - when I run a
simulation, it is much faster (3 times more or so!) than my
PIV@3GHz. My uname -a gives: Linux pauls-laptop 2.6.15-27-686 #1
SMP PREEMPT Fri Dec 8 18:00:07 UTC 2006 i686 GNU/Linux
In Debian:
The default kernel in etch (uname -a gives Linux avagadros
2.6.18-4-686 #1 SMP Mon Mar 26 17:17:36 UTC 2007 i686 GNU/Linux) has
speedstep enabled by default. To start using it, do the following:
add to the /etc/modules file the relevant modules. My /etc/modules
looks like
this: loop sbp2 fuse snd-hda-intel et131x speedstep_centrino cpufreq_stats cpufreq_powersave cpufreq_userspace cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_conservative tifm_7xx1
tifm_core
tifm_sd
You need to either restart the computer or modprobe every module
listed above to proceed. (modprobe cpufreq_ondemand etc.)
Next step is to edit /etc/default/cpufrequtils:
#Add this line to configure CPUs on
bootup ENABLE="true" GOVERNOR="ondemand" MAX_SPEED=1833000 MIN_SPEED=1000000
Issue invoke-rc.d cpufrequtils restart or restart the computer.
For me, this setting (ondemand)works perfect. The response to load
is perfect, if only one cpu is needed it will go up in frequency
while the other stays at the lowest frequency.
Make sure it works by issuing
cpufreq-info
If you get
analyzing CPU 0: no or unknown cpufreq driver is active on this
CPU analyzing CPU 1: no or unknown cpufreq driver is active on
this CPU
you probably need some modprobes. When it works, it looks like
this: pauls@avagadros:~$ cpufreq-info cpufrequtils 002:
cpufreq-info (C) Dominik Brodowski 2004-2006 Report errors and
bugs to linux@brodo.de, please. analyzing CPU 0: driver:
centrino CPUs which need to switch frequency at the same time:
0 hardware limits: 1000 MHz - 1.83 Ghz available frequency
steps: 1.83 GHz, 1.33 GHz, 1000 Mhz available cpufreq governors:
conservative, userspace, powersave, ondemand, performance current
policy: frequency should be within 1000 MHz and 1.83 Ghz. The
governor "ondemand" may decide which speed to use within
this range. current CPU frequency is 1000 Mhz._ analyzing CPU
1: driver: centrino CPUs which need to switch frequency at the
same time: 1 hardware limits: 1000 MHz - 1.83 Ghz available
frequency steps: 1.83 GHz, 1.33 GHz, 1000 Mhz available cpufreq
governors: conservative, userspace, powersave, ondemand,
performance current policy: frequency should be within 1000 MHz
and 1.83 Ghz. The governor "ondemand" may decide which
speed to use within this range. current CPU frequency is 1000
MHz.
Sound
The internal speakers do not mute when headphones are
connected. This was solved by looking at
http://www.math.chalmers.se/~ossa/linux/lg_tx_express.html. log
out switch to a terminal with ctrl-alt f1 sudo
/etc/init.d/alsa-utils stop sudo modconf go to
kernel/sound/pci/hda. Remove snd-hda-intel, then add it and add
model=lg to the options. sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils start voila!
In ubuntu:
The +- volume buttons above the keyboard work right out of the
box.
In debian:
The buttons did not work. This was fixed by the button fix, see
head line further down.
Bluetooth
Works right out of the box in ubuntu and debian. Try
hcitool scan I managed to control the mouse pointer over
bluetooth with my Sony Ericsson phone, using the preinstalled
software on the phone. Cool!
(all steps here are maybe not necessary)
switch on bluetooth on the mobile phone
run hcitool scan
I got
$hcitool scan
Scanning ...
00:18:13:91:10:AA K610i paul
$
I started bluetooth-applet on the computer.
I now connect to the phone with hidd --connect 00:18:13:91:10:AA
On the phone, I chose a program called presenter and started it.
I am asked for a PIN code on both the computer and the phone. Enter the same code on both, and voila! I can move the pointer around with the mobile phone.
I also tried some other programs, one of the preinstalled programs is able to use cursor input on the computer via the buttons on the phone.
Memory card reader
Works with the tip found at this page.
I ran
modprobe tifm_7xx1
modprobe tifm_core
modprobe tifm_sd
(add those at the end of your /etc/modules to get it inserted at boot time)
and then I found that the memory card was /dev/mmcblk0p1. I added the row
/dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/sdcard vfat user,defaults 0 0
to /etc/fstab and then issude mount /mnt/sdcard and voila, it worked.
Performance: seems like I can read data at approximately 3 Mb/s with my 2 Gb sd-card (it is probably a slow card, so the cardreader may be faster than this).
Extra multimedia keys
The keys worked in ubuntu straight out of the box, but to get them
running in Debian I used lineakd.
...and the keys start working when you start lineakd.
I did not succeed in making lineakd autostart during kde, byt it
should be possible with adding a file in ~/.kde/Autostart with mode
700 and the content #!/bin/bash kdelin&
Firewire
I plugged in a lacie firewire drive. It worked at once. (I have
not tested under debian, but there should be no problems).
Mouse pad
Works perfectly in both ubuntu and debian. The scrolling function
is really good, using the right side of it!
Unorganized stuff - don't read it unless you want to waste some
time.
put in the ubuntu cd
hit f2 and switch language to
swedish
start/install ubuntu
...it fails and says something
like x server failure or whatever, the screen is garbled..
hit a virtual terminal with
ctrl-alt-f2
sudo dpkg--reconfigure
xserver-xorg then answer as follows (everything default! if you are
non-swedish, choose other things here.) autodetect yes i810 . .
framebuffer no keyboard detect no layout se xkb xorg keyboard model
pc105 keyboard variant (empty) imps/2 mouse emulate 3 button yes
bitmap ddc dri extmod freetypde glx int10 type1 vbe write default
files section yes monitor autodetection yes 1440x900 medium
1400x900@100Hz write ranges yes default depth 24
now continute with startx (did not
work properly, but got 1024x768 at least!)
rescue master boot record with dd 915resolution dpkg-reconfingure
wired network runs with 1.2.2 from sourceforge also see
http://www.thefuckingshit.org/?p=425 the sd card may run with
http://openfacts.berlios.de/index-en.phtml?title=TI_FlashMedia_xx12/xx21_driver
/dev/rtc timed out orsakar tidszontrassel. kanske löser sig med
tips hittat på
https://www.klabs.be/~fpiat/linux/debian/Etch_on_Thinkpad_T60.html
(ändrat i /etc/defaults/rcS) cpufrequency: allt nödvändigt
var redan installerat. däremot fungerade det inte från
början. /usr/bin/cpufreq-info vägrade ge något ifrån
sig. analyzing CPU 0: no or unknown cpufreq driver is active on this
CPU analyzing CPU 1: no or unknown cpufreq driver is active on this
CPU modprobes: modprobe speedstep-centrino (efter att denna körts
hoppade det igång) modprobe cpufreq_powersave modprobe
cpufreq_conservative modprobe cpufreq_ondemand modprobe
cpufreq_stats editera /etc/default/cpufrequtils: #Add this line to
configure CPUs on bootup ENABLE="true" GOVERNOR="ondemand"
MAX_SPEED=1833000 MIN_SPEED=1000000 sen invoke-rc.d cpufrequtils
restart performance test with cpu-speed: time pi 1000000 >/dev/null
real 24.2 s time pi 1000000 >/dev/null real 18.3 s switch modes
with cpufreq-set -g performance cpufreq-set -g ondemand you can see
the names of the modes in the output of cpufreq-info is there some
nice applet to control the speed in kde? 3D graphics: I installed
mesa-utils xlibmesa-dri xlibmesa-gl xlibmesa-glu I made sure
xorg.conf contained dri and glx under section Module glxinfo | grep
rendering direct rendering: Yes (If it says "No", you
don't have 3D acceleration.) extra keyboard buttons to work:
-------------------------------- looked at
http://oregonstate.edu/~penningj/programming/linux-xps/ installed
apt-get install aumix lineakd edited (as root) /etc/lineakd.def to
contain a new entry with the following codes (used xev to find out
what key codes were) then edited $HOME/.lineakd/lineakd.conf Mute =
"aumix -v0" VolumeDown = "aumix -v -5" VolumeUp
= "aumix -v +5" to make it start automatically during kde
startup, add a file in ~/.kde/Autostart with mode 700 and the
content #!/bin/bash kdelin&