[wellylug] linux sold preinstalled

[Nigel Roberts]

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 at 00:51:54 +0000, jbowtie at amathaine.com wrote:

> I bought one on Saturday from the DSE Queensgate!
> 
> It appears to be a stock OEM install of 7.10 and comes with two extra
> pieces of paper. One explains how to complete the first-time setup screens
> (which prompts for time zone, user name, and, oddly, keyboard model). The
> other contains instructions for installing DVD playback and Flash via
> Automatix (a bad idea last time I looked; better solution is to install
> ubuntu-restricted-extras). On the reverse side of one of them it explains
> how to use the network manager applet to connect to wireless networks,
> complete with color screenshots. Compiz is disabled by default.
> 
> All the peripherals appeared to work out of the box. It's using the Intel
> X3100 for graphics, so while 3D works it seems a bit iffy on performance. I
> expect that will improve with the new drivers in Hardy; hopefully enough to
> enable Compiz by default.
> 
> I have noticed a couple of minor issues; haven't investigated them but they
> do mar the initial impressions. The machine hangs on a soft reboot; this is
> probably a BIOS issue. It also seems to fail to resume correctly; this may
> be an APCI issue or another BIOS bug.

I too have one of these and I've noticed the same issues. I've noticed
that swap doesn't seem to have been setup correctly and that the power
manager doesn't control the brightness properly either. I get the
distinct feeling that Acer created this laptop so that people could
put their own OS on it rather than specifically as a linux laptop.

The Good:
Mostly works with Linux preinstalled
Cheap
Solid build, good screen
Relatively speedy with good feature set
Best intergrated graphics money can buy

The Bad:
Atheros 5006EG card requires NDISwrapper
Suspend/Hibernate don't work
Modem doesn't work
Microphone doesn't work
Brightness controls a bit wacky

The Ugly:
BIOS hangs
Awful Styling

Nigel