This is a list of hints and tips for working with certain hardware and software under Linux, as well as parts of the Linux desktop. Sorted more or less by newest first, this list will grow over time...

• ACPI kernel support - The latest ACPI spec is not fully implemented yet, and many motherboard/BIOS and laptop implementations are non-compliant with the spec (most seem optimized only for newer versions of that other commercial OS). The ebuilds below (also on the C7 netbook page) patch the vanilla Linux kernel source (currently 2.6.31) with the latest matching ACPI patch for that particular kernel release. It may help if you're having trouble with PCI devices or CPU frequency scaling on a desktop system, particularly newer budget AMD64 motherboards, or power management or other hardware issues on a laptop (applies to x86/amd64 architectures, whether desktop, server, or laptop/netbook).
  • You can find the latest of the acpi-sources ebuilds in my local portage overlay, all of which include the working hunks of the current ACPI patch release for that particular kernel version, along with the (optional) c7-temp lm_sensor module patch.
  • You can still download the 2.6.29 acpi-soures ebuild and patch as a tarball here: 2.6.29-acpi-sources ebuild and 2.6.29-acpi-sources patch. Unpack the ebuild in your local portage overlay and place the patch in your distfiles, generate a new manifest, etc.
• Gentoo C7 Netbook tips - Some install and kernel configuration tips, config files, and a much newer ACPI kernel ebuild.
• Linux audio codecs - Some basics on ripping or recording to various codecs, with suitable reference links.
• Kernel and Xorg Device Quirks - Recent weirdness with some devices, both disk drives and wireless USB mouse and keyboard combos.
• Linux DVD audio rip tips - Some tips on the tools and techniques for ripping audio tracks from DVDs or other sources (plus a handy shell script).
• Linux audio tips - A convenient and low-noise way to get your musical instruments connected to a Linux box for digital recording and other musical pursuits, (using Line6 PODs, as well as some budget devices from Behringer).
• 2.6.29-rt-sources ebuilds - unpack this in your local portage overlay, or apply the patches manually. Vanilla sources patched with the real-time preempt kernel code to allow user-mode real-time scheduling. See the einfo in the ebuild and the kernel source documentation. Hint: if you want to enable real-time mode in jack or pulseaudio, then you need this...
• Gnome config tips - How to change your default panel icon from the foot or vendor logo; I'll be adding more tips here as well.
• Xorg config tips - Starting with wide-screen (16x9) format LCD display panels, I'll be adding more tips here as I go (although most things should Just Work).
• Linux phone sync - Syncing your phone with Linux and bitpim (in this case it happens to be a Motorola RAZR V3m from Verizon).
• Manual RAID start - Starting a Linux kernel RAID and LVM2 setup manually, such as when booting from a Gentoo LiveCD or other rescue media.
• Realtek 8139 - Oddities of the Realtek 8139, specifically the 4-port router card configuration. This is very close to the standard chipset used on small wireless router/gateway boxes (e.g., the LinkSys WRT54G/GS). For details on specific wireless router hardware and current OpenWRT support, see the Table of Hardware

last update: 10/25/2009 12:17