The Register Hardware says about Eeebuntu 3.0 w/ EeePC Tray:
"If you have an Eee PC, this is certainly the version of Ubuntu to go for."
- http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/06/09/which_linux_for_netbooks/
Associated Content has this to say:
"Eeebuntu seems to be the easiest way to get Ubuntu on your Eee PC. Almost every hardware feature is supported out-of-box--even in the minimal "Base" version. Eeebuntu is an aesthetically pleasing, full featured, free operating system alternative for the Eee PC that comes highly recommended."
- http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1758354/eeebuntu_30_base_a_great_way_to_get.html?cat=15
UPDATE:
"Equipped with eeeBuntu, the netbook will easily fill most of your day-to-day computer needs."
- http://linux.com/news/hardware/laptops/37892-9-things-to-do-with-your-linux-eeepc
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
EeePC ACPI Utilities and EeePC Tray update
Work is progressing nicely on EeePC ACPI Utilities and EeePC Tray 1.1. Here is a sneak peak at some of the features that will be in the new release.
As you can see from the screenshots the interface hasn't changed much. I've added hotkey access to the controls, and I
have also broken out some of the toggles to be more functional.
The Screen Resolutions control has been updated to query and maintain an active list of screen resolutions available to you. The menu is updated dynamically with the top three available.
The Screen Orientations control has been updated and when using the patched xorg driver now available for testing, your touchpad now rotates along with the screen!
I've added functionality to the Video Display controls to support three screen modes, Internal, External, and Clone modes so it functions more like it would in Windows. Simply right click the tray icon and select Video Displays and then the mode you would like to use.
An additional n
ew feature, and probably my favorite is the new "Insane Performance" mode that becomes available if you define an overclock setting in /etc/acpi/eeepc-acpi.local. While working on EeePC ACPI Utilities I've learned a lot about the Eee PC. One of the things that I discovered is that the asus-eee kernel module doesn't expose the PCI-E multiplier like a lot of people thought. What it exposes is both of the dynamic bus controls which can be used to overclock the Eee, but they don't overclock the PCI-E bus to align the clock change. After spending some time with setfsb in my XP partition (meh, it comes with the Eee, may as well keep it!) I figured out how SHE mode works on my 1000HD which works for the 904HD, then later for the 1000HE which is also valid for the Atom based 900 series. Basically when SHE changes modes it alters the clock generator control at 0x0B, 0x0C, and 0x0F. The first two are the dynamic bus controls and the last is the PCI-E / PCI control. Manipulating the first two controls allowed me to get my Eee up from the default score of 796 to 879 which was great, you can see a significant increase in performance, but it wasn't enough. Through manipulating both the dynamic controls, and the PCI-E bus I managed to overclock to 1200MHz with a geekbench score of 1071. Unfortunately at 1200MHz my PCI-E Ethernet card no longer functions so I settled on a lower frequency of 1145MHz which scores 958. At 879 I can watch Hulu full screen.
What does this mean to you? Well, I've rewritten the CPU control module to utilize the asus-eee kernel module extensions I've added and it now functions like the Windows SHE module. I now use the same frequency adjustments that SHE in XP does to switch between your bus speeds for the models I have found data for. I also now support the BIOS SHE hooks if you choose to use them, and the older legacy scaling control from the 1.0.x series if your clock generator is not yet supported.
My asus-eee kernel module fork expanding support for the PCI-E / PCI adjustment is now called netbook.
ko and is available for installation today from the statux.org repository as netbook-dkms. Please note that this module is not compatible with any of the other Eee PC ACPI tools out there including EeePC ACPI Utilities 1.0.x. The source is open, and available in my SVN repository so those writing competing software are welcome to adopt it.
Here are some of the other changes that have been made, as well as a few that are still on the list to implement before or soon after 1.1 hits the streets.
New features already implemented:
If you would like to ensure that your Eee is properly supported, here's how you can help. If you have a Windows XP instance still available to you, go grab the setfsb utility. Set the PLL in setfsb to ICS0LPR427AGLF, then set your SHE interface to the slowest possible mode. Now in setfsb, click the diagnostics or debug screen. Click "get fsb", and if you see a bunch of hex codes in the window, click the capture button. Now, select the next mode in SHE, then click "get fsb" then capture. Email those screenshots along with your Eee PC model to support@fewt.com. I can extrapolate that data and build support for your Eee using it.
If you don't have Windows available, you can still help. First, open a terminal. Issue the following commands, and email the output to the email address above along with your Eee model.
sudo -s
modprobe i2c-dev
i2cdump -y 0 0x69 s
Give [ Eee PC Utilities ] a try!
Note: Eee PC Utilities have been superceded by Jupiter for Eeebuntu and Fedora. More information [ HERE ]
As you can see from the screenshots the interface hasn't changed much. I've added hotkey access to the controls, and I
have also broken out some of the toggles to be more functional.The Screen Resolutions control has been updated to query and maintain an active list of screen resolutions available to you. The menu is updated dynamically with the top three available.
The Screen Orientations control has been updated and when using the patched xorg driver now available for testing, your touchpad now rotates along with the screen!
I've added functionality to the Video Display controls to support three screen modes, Internal, External, and Clone modes so it functions more like it would in Windows. Simply right click the tray icon and select Video Displays and then the mode you would like to use.
An additional n
ew feature, and probably my favorite is the new "Insane Performance" mode that becomes available if you define an overclock setting in /etc/acpi/eeepc-acpi.local. While working on EeePC ACPI Utilities I've learned a lot about the Eee PC. One of the things that I discovered is that the asus-eee kernel module doesn't expose the PCI-E multiplier like a lot of people thought. What it exposes is both of the dynamic bus controls which can be used to overclock the Eee, but they don't overclock the PCI-E bus to align the clock change. After spending some time with setfsb in my XP partition (meh, it comes with the Eee, may as well keep it!) I figured out how SHE mode works on my 1000HD which works for the 904HD, then later for the 1000HE which is also valid for the Atom based 900 series. Basically when SHE changes modes it alters the clock generator control at 0x0B, 0x0C, and 0x0F. The first two are the dynamic bus controls and the last is the PCI-E / PCI control. Manipulating the first two controls allowed me to get my Eee up from the default score of 796 to 879 which was great, you can see a significant increase in performance, but it wasn't enough. Through manipulating both the dynamic controls, and the PCI-E bus I managed to overclock to 1200MHz with a geekbench score of 1071. Unfortunately at 1200MHz my PCI-E Ethernet card no longer functions so I settled on a lower frequency of 1145MHz which scores 958. At 879 I can watch Hulu full screen.
What does this mean to you? Well, I've rewritten the CPU control module to utilize the asus-eee kernel module extensions I've added and it now functions like the Windows SHE module. I now use the same frequency adjustments that SHE in XP does to switch between your bus speeds for the models I have found data for. I also now support the BIOS SHE hooks if you choose to use them, and the older legacy scaling control from the 1.0.x series if your clock generator is not yet supported.
My asus-eee kernel module fork expanding support for the PCI-E / PCI adjustment is now called netbook.
ko and is available for installation today from the statux.org repository as netbook-dkms. Please note that this module is not compatible with any of the other Eee PC ACPI tools out there including EeePC ACPI Utilities 1.0.x. The source is open, and available in my SVN repository so those writing competing software are welcome to adopt it.Here are some of the other changes that have been made, as well as a few that are still on the list to implement before or soon after 1.1 hits the streets.
New features already implemented:
- SHE like functionality - Modes match Asus SHE when possible
- Full SHE support via eeepc-laptop
- User configurable Fan control
- Separate Fan speed defaults for Celeron and Atom
- Dynamic video resolution controls
- Better Rotation controls w/ Touchpad rotate
- Enhanced display management controls
- Legacy Scaling with new 10% default for better compatibility
- Nearly every control has been optimized or updated for better functionality
- Enable / Disable Card Reader
- Finalize SHE support for remaining models (see below if you would like to help)
- Additional debug options for better user support
- Code optimization
If you would like to ensure that your Eee is properly supported, here's how you can help. If you have a Windows XP instance still available to you, go grab the setfsb utility. Set the PLL in setfsb to ICS0LPR427AGLF, then set your SHE interface to the slowest possible mode. Now in setfsb, click the diagnostics or debug screen. Click "get fsb", and if you see a bunch of hex codes in the window, click the capture button. Now, select the next mode in SHE, then click "get fsb" then capture. Email those screenshots along with your Eee PC model to support@fewt.com. I can extrapolate that data and build support for your Eee using it.
If you don't have Windows available, you can still help. First, open a terminal. Issue the following commands, and email the output to the email address above along with your Eee model.
sudo -s
modprobe i2c-dev
i2cdump -y 0 0x69 s
Give [ Eee PC Utilities ] a try!
Note: Eee PC Utilities have been superceded by Jupiter for Eeebuntu and Fedora. More information [ HERE ]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)