Ubuntu Laptop ACPI hard disk ‘clicking’ bugfix on the way
You may remember I had some issues on my Dell Vostro 1500 with a scary sounding periodic hard disk ‘click’, related to a bug in the pm-utils package. In brief: this bug effectively puts the disk into powersaving mode far too often, drastically reducing it’s working lifespan.
Well, good news … it looks like the hard disk ACPI bug has been fixed, and will make it’s way into the Ubuntu 9.04, 8.10
Hide the Desktop icons in Gnome for a clutter free Ubuntu
Quick tip … want to hide all the icons cluttering up your Gnome Desktop ?
Run gconf-editor (Alt-F2, type gconf-editor, Press “Run”) and navigate the tree to find /apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop. Set the value to false (uncheck the checkbox), and your Desktop icons should disappear.
You can still access any files on the Desktop using the file manager (eg, under the “Places” menu), but they will no longer obscure the view of your snazzy desktop background.
(Via Tombuntu’s Ubuntu
Asus Eee PC 4G (700) setup notes, links
I recently got an Asus Eee PC 4G so I could avoid lugging around a heavy notebook when traveling. The Xandros distro which came preinstalled was cute and booted very fast (~17 secs), but ultimately I felt I needed something a bit more versatile (oh, the stock Xandro also lacked WPA2 wireless support, which was something I need). I decided to install the soon-to-be-renamed Ubuntu Eee, an unofficial version of Ubuntu using features of the Netbook Remix, tailored to work nicely on the Eee PC.
What follows is not a HOWTO, but rather a set of links and notes on some things I tweaked. It’s mostly for my own personal reference, but if it helps someone else out, all the better. The Ubuntu Eee distro has already done most of the heavy customization required for smooth operation on an Eee PC … but I had fun doing a little tweaking of my own anyhow.
Upgrading Ubuntu on a Vostro 1500 laptop : Gutsy (7.10) to Hardy (8.04)
Previously, I have posted about my experiences installing and testing Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10) on my Dell Vostro 1500 laptop. Since I set it up, I’ve been happily using it every day. At the time everything generally went pretty smoothly, but being a fairly new piece of hardware, there were a few hiccups that required some hand editing of config files. The key piece of hardware that didn’t work was the integrated microphone – not essential for me, but nice to have.
I upgraded it to Ubuntu Hardy (8.04) a few months ago. These are my experiences, and a summary of what didn’t work under 7.10, but does under 8.04.
