Liliputer

Acer Iconia W500 Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Rocks!

2011-12-02T17:08:00.001-05:00

Almost everything works out of the box and with just a few tweaks it is a fully fleshed Ubuntu Tablet. Multitouch isn't quite there yet, but single clicks are registered, both front and rear camera work, as does wifi.

If you have the keyboard dock, you'll need to download and install the driver. And for full rotation support you'll need to install a program called magick-rotation.

Among several tweaks from this site, http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/things-to-tweak-after-installing-ubuntu.html I also installed a program called Jupiter which allows you to select screen rotation from the top panel

All the links are provided below
Useful Links:
http://www.webupd8.org/2011/10/things-to-tweak-after-installing-ubuntu.html

Screen Rotation, etc:
https://launchpad.net/magick-rotation
https://answers.launchpad.net/magick-rotation/+faq/1603

Ethernet driver here:
www.asix.com.tw/FrootAttach/driver/AX88772B_772A_760_772_178_LINUX_Driver_v4.2.0_Source.zip

Buying a Refurbished Acer Iconia W500

2011-11-29T08:42:00.001-05:00

My video unboxing of a refurbished Acer Iconia W500 from CheetahDeals.com.
Basically, yes, it is a good deal.

Acer Iconia Keeps Making Me Happy

2011-09-29T07:07:00.000-04:00

My quick review of the Acer Iconia A500 running Virtuous Galaxy 1.0.6. Pretty nice combo.

IKEA Style Laptop Stand

2011-09-11T10:12:00.002-04:00

A few months after I made the Instructable Laptop Stand For Your Netbook it occurred to me that it might be possible to use similar components to design and create a laptop stand for larger notebooks. Stylish, lightweight, and sturdy - and made with IKEA stuff! What could be better?

This Instructable uses only IKEA parts and can be easily customized to fit almost any sized laptop.

The hardest part is cutting the shelf brackets - but everything else can be done in minutes.

You can check out the entire how-to here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/IKEA-Style-Laptop-Stand/

How to Pair and Connect a Bluetooth Keyboard to Your Acer Iconia A500

2011-07-21T13:12:00.002-04:00

Bluetooth Mouse Support with Acer Iconia Tab and 3.1 Honeycomb

2011-07-12T11:30:00.002-04:00

The Honeycomb 3.1 update for the Acer Iconia is well worth the wait! I really wanted a large screen tablet with mouse support, usb or bluetooth. It was a little frustrating to wait for Acer's 3.1 update but now that it's here so is mouse support. My video tutorial above video shows how easy it is to pair and use a bluetooth mouse with your Tab.

Oh, and if you want to use that extra usb mouse you have laying around, all you need to do is plug and play and you should be set to go.

Nook Color and Ubuntu = NookBuntu!

2011-05-22T15:25:00.001-04:00

I had a chance to try out a beta version of Ubuntu for the Nook Color. I was totally impressed! It is still a little rough around the edges - but single touch works, wifi as well.

If you are interested in trying it out, follow the instructions here to install it on an micro sd card. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1055954

Thanks to the The NookBuntu Dev Team devastatorx, penkia, lincore, munday, and luciferii for making this happen!

Acer Iconia A500 and USB Mouse Support

2011-05-21T17:33:00.002-04:00

Check it out!

Netflix on a Nook Color

2011-05-19T13:50:00.000-04:00

Using a USB Keyboard with the Acer Iconia A500

2011-05-10T13:07:00.009-04:00

The keyboard in this video can be purchased here: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/79-key-compact-slim-usb-keyboard-white-silver-120cm-cable-48597

The Acer Iconia A500

2011-04-29T09:31:00.006-04:00

Less than 4 days after the Iconia was released in the US, the devs over at XDA-Developers have already worked out how to root the device. The screenshot above was taken with Screenshot ER, one of the few screen grabber apps that work with rooted Honeycomb devices.

I purchased the Acer the day it came out and then watched on Tuesday as everyone, it seemed, was rushing to buy the few Asus Eee Transformers released in the US. I also got swept up in the fray, but, like thousands of frustrated buyers, was not able to get my hands on one.

Meanwhile, it also seemed that there may not be much support for the device, the XDA-Developers site still has not established a separate section for the A500. However, there is a thriving and enthusiastic community of modders and developers already working to make the device more useful, hence the root - which came along yesterday.

UPDATE 4/29/2011 Acer A500 Device Section is here!

The Eee Transformer could potentially be a great device, but the limited availability of the device, no keyboard dock for a few more weeks, and the fact that some people have had real problems with the OTA update that came immediately after the device was released here, have made me less anxious to grab one now. The fact that it was released a day after the Acer, and that sellers did not have enough stock to meet demand, makes me wonder if it was a ploy just to pull some thunder away from the A500's release.

On the other hand I really like the Acer A500. I like the aesthetics of the design, the brushed aluminum back and the curved bezel on the make for a handsome tablet. Plus, the USB port is a wonderful step forward in tablet design. The device, although a few ounces heavier than the Xoom feels good in my hands. The screen is bright and responsive and overall I couldn't be more pleased. Any problems I have encountered with it seem to be more related to Honeycomb rather than Acer.

This is my first Acer product and I have to say, Bravo! to Acer for quietly releasing this solid device.

Saying Goodbye to my EEE PC Family

2011-04-23T13:19:00.002-04:00

I never thought I'd be doing this, ever. But today I put my remaining EEE PC up for auction on Ebay. Definitely a closing of a long chapter in my computing life. And honestly, I never thought I would be moving on.

It all started 2 years ago when I purchased a 1000 Linux model. January 2009. That little netbook radically changed my life. It became a portal through which I took control of my electronic life and learned to love (and hate at times) Open Source Software. I also became smitten with micro computers and the 1000 was my "gateway" device. From there I owned, at one time or another, the 701 4G, several 701SDs, a couple of 900s, a 900A, and finally the T91MT. And these were only the ones I owned from the EEE PC line. From there I worked my way through several Fujitsu handheld devices. I bought, played with and sold an LT-C500, a U810, and a P1510D. A Sony UX180p and a Kohjinsha SC3 also managed to find their way onto my coffee table.

My T91MT is the last to go. I wanted to love it but I never enjoyed the cheap keyboard. The processor was so underpowered that I could never enjoy Netflix or YouTube videos without a lot of sputter. It's touchscreen and graphic chip were never very friendly with Linux - and I don't like Windows on small screens. So - I finally have decided to let it go.

That being said, I loved everyone of those little laptops and learned so much about operating systems, code, and the language of open source and Linux. So much so that I am committed Linux user whenever possible. Plus, I am writing this post on a Fujitsu p1620. It is a used item that I picked up from Ebay last year. Currently I have it running Jolicloud 1.2 and think it is one of the best powerhouse small computers on the secondary market. Mine came with a little image burn in, and a cracked hinge plate (cosmetic, really) and, unexpectedly, a 32GB SSD hard-drive. The Ebay listing said 80. The seller adjusted the price to reflect the mis-listing and the faint burn in and I have been happily using it ever since as a streaming device hooked up to my TV.

Meanwhile, I've moved on to pure tablet devices. I am loving them as well but wonder how long that will last. The next big (or small) thing is just around the corner. I'm sure of it.

How to Take Screen Shots of Your Nook Color!

2011-04-18T20:54:00.001-04:00

Ruminations on The Rooted Nook Color

2011-04-17T20:44:00.002-04:00

So, I bought a Nook Color about 6 weeks ago. This was about a month after I bought a Galaxy Tab (off-contract) from T-Mobile. I sort of discovered the Nook after the fact. I think it was through watching YouTube videos that compared the Nook to the Tab. Almost immediately I realized that everything I thought I wanted with the Tab I could have had with Nook, and, for half the price. Bummer! But now that the dust has settled around both, I have come to like each very much, precisely because they are similar yet so really unalike.

The Galaxy Tab runs Android 2.2 and is a well-designed, glossy, light-weight, feature-packed device with bluetooth, front and back facing cameras, and a beautiful and responsive touchscreen. My version comes with both 3G and wifi and I can easily tether a bluetooth mouse and keyboard for added functionality. But with all the processing power required to run everything, the battery life is only decent. However, with a few adjustments to some of the settings, such as placing it in airplane mode while it's sleeping, one can carry it around for a couple of days between charges. Hackable, but also easily made into an expensive brick, I have gone no further than rooting it.

On the other hand, the Nook Color is an Android tablet hiding under a Barnes and Noble skin. It has Android 2.1 or Eclaire under the hood. It's heavy for a 7" device and has only moderate battery life. But it has a glossy and responsive screen, wifi connectivity, and with a little effort the stock Android can be easily uncovered through rooting. Plus, the folks over at xda-developers have managed to uncover some wonderful little secrets such as a built-in but not active Bluetooth module. They've also created modified versions of Froyo 2.2 and Cyanogen Mod 7 (a souped up version of Gingerbread 2.3 that has also unlocked the Bluetooth feature) that run quite well on the device. Battery life is still mediocre, especially with CM7, but either the rooted stock or Froyo can be tweaked to keep the battery going for a couple of days.

The Nook seems to be made for hacking and even a novice modder can be assured of pretty good results with rooting or installing newer versions of the Android operating system. In fact it is precisely this that makes it worth the purchase price. It is an incredibly forgiving device and a great training tool to learn how to flash new roms, root, and restore. And if you mess up somewhere along the way it is possible to bring the device all the way back to its original settings!

There is an eager and devoted community of people bravely hacking their devices even as I write this. I often think that the this kind of geekery is mostly for guys and an occasional girl geek (like me)- but the Nook has brought out those latent tendencies in a lot of us, young, old, or in between, male, and, most importantly, a female audience eager to free their Nooks from its E-reader bonds.

Rooted Nook Color

2011-04-16T09:20:00.002-04:00

Some shots of my rooted Nook Color running Froyo with Launcher Pro and Wretched Blues theme.
Wretched Blues Link

How to Make the Icons Bigger on Your Rooted Nook Color

2011-04-09T07:16:00.000-04:00

The stock Android screen on your rooted Nook Color is set to the density of 169.33333. Since this is not related to screen resolution which is hardware based - it is something that you can easily modify to make the screen icons and menus bigger - to look more like the Galaxy Tab.

This fix requires Root Explorer. It is not a free app - but worth every penny. When you open Root Explorer, you'll need to make the file writable by clicking on the Mount R/W button at the top of the page.

To do this mod open Root Explorer, Click on System. From there, click on the button at the top of the page to change Mount R/O to Mount R/W. From there long hold on the build.prop file. You should now see a menu - click on Open in Text Editor. The keyboard will also pop up when you open this file. Scroll down to two lines: ro.sf.lcd_density.xdpi=169.33333 and under it ro.sf.lcd_density.ypdi=169.3333. Place a # sign at the beginning of each of these lines. The # sign in front of the line of text deactivates the line. Three lines up from there should see a line with ro.sf.lcd_density=250 or something close to this number. Remove the # sign from the beginning of this line. You can try different numbers and choose what works best for you. Then click the menus key and then click on Save and Exit. Press the home key to get back to your home screen. After that all you need to do is reboot your Nook.

The Nook screen icons will be much bigger now as well as the Nook menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Some parts of it will be cut off such as notifications and the clock. My solution is to use the Zeam theme and run it in full screen. I've also remapped the volume keys - volume up is now menu and volume down is the back key. I installed volumer++ to control volume and the hello status bar app and placed icons for both on the home screen. Hello status bar allows you to see your notifications.

This mod is totally reversible. Just remove the # signs from the ro.sf.lcd_density.xdpi=169.33333 and ro.sf.lcd_density.ypdi=169.3333 and ADD the # sign back in front of the ro.sf.lcd_density=250 line. Save and reboot.

Good Luck and Enjoy! But use at your own risk.

This and many other work-arounds can be found at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=889951. A big thanks to wvcachi for posting this.

Four Galaxy Tab Stands Reviewed

2011-03-04T11:10:00.002-05:00

Kohjinsha SC3 and Jolicloud 1.1

2011-02-20T21:31:00.001-05:00

Almost perfect out of the box OS. Touchscreen recognized right away, wifi works, screen rotates.

A few tweaks is all it needs to be a great Linux tablet device. I dual boot Windows 7 primarily for streaming in content such as Netflix.

Galaxy Tab

2011-02-20T21:25:00.000-05:00

Not Rooted (yet)
Stock Android.

The Nook and Tab, although 7 inch tablet devices, are completely different in attitude. The Nook is easy to hack and experiment with, while the Tab is waiting for its update to Honeycomb.
Love them both.

Nook Color

2011-02-20T21:16:00.001-05:00

Rooted of course.

Jolicloud 1.1 on the Fujitsu U810

2010-12-11T09:36:00.003-05:00

I bought my Fujitsu U810 last December just as the prices had dropped enough to make it affordable. I paid about $450 - but now you can pick up one on ebay for about $200-250. I had been warned though - every review I read or YouTube video I watched spoke of its sluggish performance on Vista and many hated the cramped keyboard with its doubled keys and seemingly random placement of frequently used keys (Tab key for example). And, of course, they were right. Still, I bought one and over the last year tried a variety of Linux and Windows configurations in an effort to transform it into a speedy little travel machine. However, the slow processor and the fixed 1G Ram present challenges to speed and responsiveness.

Neither Windows 7 nor Ubuntu (my main Linux of choice) are optimized for this model - Fujitsu did not support the upgrade to 7 with updated drivers. Linux runs pretty well, but I had issues with wifi on some distros and the touchscreen and keyboard lights and special buttons require some modifications in order to work. Additionally, the Ricoh webcam in this model presents it own issues as well. But as always many fixes are out there to help get these things up and running.

Thanks to the work of Spareinfo http://spareinfo.blogspot.com/2009/04/installing-linux-on-fujitsu-u810_07.html and EliasB http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/showthread.php?36976-Windows-7-on-my-U810and others I have managed to make the U810 much more useful to me.

Until recently, Jaunty was the best performance distro. It was fast and with hacks everything except the keyboard lights worked. Karmic was more sluggish - the wifi was slower. Lucid was a nightmare - I had nothing but problems with the wifi and halting performance. But with Lucid, for the first time, a hack to make the keyboard lights appeared on the Spareinfo site. YAY! But the otherwise problematic performance made me go back to Windows - I tried Windows 7 and using EliasB's instructions made everything work. . . but I am not fond of Windows. Although Windows 7 isn't bad aesthetically, it runs a little slow. The 800 mhz processor and 1G ram make the U810 work a little too hard at times. When Maverick came along the wifi was fine but I had even more sluggish performance, random freeze-ups. So it was back to Windows 7. :-(

So, here's where Jolicloud 1.1 comes in. I had tried the initial Jolicloud offering last year live on one of my eee pcs and was not drawn to its familiar (and unattractive NBR interface). As a consequence, I never thought of it again. But a couple of days ago I ran across the newest incarnation, 1.1, and decided to try it on the U810.

Jolicloud 1.1, which is built on Ubuntu's Lucid, doesn't officially support the model - but what the heck! I tried it live - and to my amazement wifi worked fine the touchscreen responded - but only in the lower left quadrant. I booted into a live session of Maverick and the touchscreen had the same response. So (lightbulb!) I decided to go ahead and install it to the hard disk and try the mods over at Spareinfo to see if I could get everything to work. I installed the fjbtndrv driver from Sourceforge. And from Spareinfo, installed the mod for the keyboard lights, used xbindkeys and xbindkeys-conf to bind the lights and cellwriter (onscreen keyboard) to the special buttons under the screen. I also installed the modified touchscreen driver and the webcam driver also from Spareinfo.

I can truly say that Jolicoud 1.1 on my Fujitsu U810 is a perfect match. Speedy, responsive, fun. Great interface! Aesthetically pleasing on a small screen. Jolicloud 1.1 is made for a touchscreen device. If you know a little about Ubuntu (even I'm still a bit of a noob) you'll have no problem getting under the hood to make the mods and have yourself an incredible travel netbook.

By the way, I am still dual booting Windows 7 -but only for Netflix, Kindle for PC, and a couple of Windows based games.

p1510d +Ubuntu 10.04 = Better iPad!

2010-08-20T08:54:00.000-04:00

I recently purchased a used Fujitsu P1510D and immediately installed Ubuntu on it. Following instructions found in this thread http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=811200 (particularly #37 and #44). I was also able to get the screen rotation buttons fjtbtndrv working by adding the following repositories.

From the terminal enter
Code:

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Next, add the software repositories for the fjbtndrv package.
Save and close.

Code:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/khnz/ppa/ubuntu karmic main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/khnz/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

Then back in terminal enter the following. This adds the key.
Code:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E88D7B6F

Code:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install fjbtndrv

You might need to install wacom-tools as well.

While all this works fine there was one one problem: the touch doesn't follow rotation of the screen. I have been searching for weeks on line trying to find a solution. I finally ran across this blog http://blogs.fsfe.org/alge/?p=111 and this guy has created .deb files required for activating the touchscreen and the rotate button in Karmic. Plus, the touch follows rotation when you mechanically rotate the screen. Touch still doesn't follow when using the button to rotate the screen. But hey, when you flip the screen on its hinge touch now works in two orientations rather than one. YAY! The address for the .deb files is http://www.algepop.net/users/alge/p1610/. The files were modified to work with the P1610 model but they work great with my P1510D running Karmic.

One thing you have to do is edit the enable_touchscreen file though. Calibration will be off if you don't.

From terminal enter
Code:

sudo gedit /usr/bin/enable_touchscreen

Change line 16 to read:
use constant SCREEN => (1024,600);

Save and close.

Fujitsu u810 Keyboard Lights Work in Lucid!

2010-08-09T11:00:00.000-04:00

How to get your Fujitsu u810 completely up and running in Ubuntu Lucid 10.04.

Thanks to Spareinfo.blogger.com's blog I was able to get my u810 running quite well in Jaunty. The only thing that didn't work were the keyboard lights. Not a really a necessity but I really wanted the satisfaction of being able to use them in the dark. There is a mod for them in Hardy and a new one that functions in Lucid – and I still am too much of a Linux Noob to be able to successfully compile the module from source. Up till now using Lucid on my machine has been a huge disappointment mainly because of the wireless connectivity issues that seem to be rampant in 10.04.

But I was determined to make everything work. So after several re-installs, trials and errors, and many hours of scouring on-line for answers I have worked out the solution! So if you have a u810 collecting dust it's time to get it out and slap on the new distro and have a go with those keyboard lights while surfing in the dark . . .

Sites with invaluable information that I am forever indebted to:
http://spareinfo.blogspot.com/2009/04/installing-linux-on-fujitsu-u810_07.html
http://exain.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/howto-fujitsu-u1010-u810-umpc-and-ubuntu-linux-804-hardy-heron/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/Atheros
http://madwifi-project.org/
http://edtake.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/ubuntu-lucid-lynx-wireless-keep-dropping/

INSTALL LUCID

Start with a fresh install of Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid. I used an ISO disc and booted it from an external DVD drive.
My u810 has a 60G hard-drive and I have it set to dual Ubuntu and Windows 7 (everything works thanks to ) so I created a straight 15G / partition and 1.5G swap for Ubuntu.

Update and then upgrade. I had to connect via ethernet cable for these steps.

$sudo apt-get update
$sudo apt-get upgrade

Reboot.

SET UP WIRELESS

I did all of the following. The last step may not be necessary but I kept trying things until I had a good wireless connection. There is no guarantee that what I did will work for you or won't break your computer. The u810 uses an AR242x 802.11abg wireless card – not so easy to make work well in Lucid or Karmic. Although wireless connections are visible with the default install, the computer could either not make a connection, or if it did, connections were slooooow and often dropped. Ethernet works fine however.

Step 1
Enable backports.
$sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Uncomment the two backports repositories save and close

$sudo apt-get update

$sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-lucid linux-backports-modules-wireless-lucid-generic

Reboot.

Step 2
Install MadWifi Atheros Driver

First modify a couple of files in the modprobe.d folder.
$gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Add the following lines

blacklist ath_hal
blacklist ath_pci

Save and close

$gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-ath_pci.conf
Leave this line blacklisted
blacklist ath5k
(Don't add # to the front of the line. Many sources suggest doing this but it didn't work for me.)

Install preparatory software
$sudo apt-get install automake mercurial build-essential libssl-dev linux-headers-`uname -r`

Download driver from here and save to desktop.

Right click to extract to the desktop and rename Madwifi.

From terminal
$cd Desktop

$cd Madwifi

$make

$sudo make install

WifiDocs suggest this step as well.
Kernel 2.6.32.22 changed the default for the rfkill parameter of ath_pci from 0 to 1, which had the effect of killing the methods described above. You'll need to make sure that it's set back to 0 on system startup. To do that, edit (or create) the file /etc/modprobe.d/options.conf to include the line

Create or modify the following file to save your efforts for the next boot:

$sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/options.conf
add
options ath_pci rfkill=0

Save and close.
Then from the menu go to
Administration → Hardware Drivers and activate your new Atheros madwifi driver.

Step 3
Not sure if this matters but I did it with no ill effects.
Modify the following file:

$sudo gedit /etc/NetworkManager/nm-system-settings.conf
and add or modify the following the file to:

[main]
plugins=ifupdown,keyfile

[ifupdown]
managed=true

[ifdown]
managed=true

[ifup]
managed=true

Reboot

You should now have snappy, consistent wireless connections. If you update your kernel, you'll have to reinstall the driver.

TOUCHSCREEN

Some have suggested that the evtouch drivers will now work in Lucid, but I haven't tested them. I have had great luck with the modified driver from Spareinfo.

Download

Make sure to set your computer BIOS to use the touchscreen in 'tablet' mode.
This is the mode also used by Windows, and provides very sharp touchscreen accuracy.

Download the package file to any directory

$ mkdir fujitsu_touchscreen_driver
$ cd fujitsu_touchscreen_driver
$ wget http://sites.google.com/site/spareinfosite/Home/fujitsu-usb-touchscreen-0.3.5.tar.gz

Extract the files

$ tar zxvf fujitsu-usb-touchscreen-0.3.5.tar.gz
$ cd fujitsu-usb-touchscreen-0.3.5

Install the software

$ make
$sudo make install

Go to System → Preferences → Startup Applications → Add
/usr/bin/fujitsu_touchscreen_rotate.py

Reboot.

SPECIAL BUTTONS / // Rotate Screen

From the terminal.
Add repositories
$sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Add these two lines
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/khnz/ppa/ubuntu lucid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/khnz/ppa/ubuntu lucid main

Save and close.

$sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys E88D7B6F

$sudo apt-get update

$sudo apt-get install fjbtndrv cellwriter xournal

Reboot.

MICROPHONE

$sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
and add this line to the bottom of the file
options snd-hda-intel model=toshiba-s06
Save and close.
Reboot.

KEYBOARD LIGHTS

Download the fujitsu-kbdlights-0.1.0.tar.gz to the desktop
http://sites.google.com/site/spareinfosite/Home/fujitsu-kbdlights-0.1.0.tar.gz

Right click to extract the file

Compile and install
From terminal type
$cd Desktop
$cd fujitsu-kbdlights-0.1.0
$sudo bash
#make
#make install

From terminal or command shell, you can type any of the following

fujitsu_kbdlights on

fujitsu_kbdlights off

fujitsu_kbdlights toggle

fujitsu_kbdlights

XBINDKEYS

To associate the keyboard lights with the / Button and cellwriter with the // Button do the following

From terminal type
$sudo apt-get install xbindykeys xbindkeys-config

Then
$xbindkeys --defaults > $HOME/.xbindkeysrc
$sudo xbindkeys-config

At the bottom click New, and follow the prompts in the Edit box upper right corner.
Name it kbdlight or whatever you want.
Press the Get Key.
A little window pops up.
Then press the / button to get the key code.
Then enter the command in the action box.
In this case I chose the command fujitsu_kbdlights toggle
Run action to make sure it works.
At the bottom click save and give it a name.

Do the same thing for the // Button.
Click new
Name it.
Get key by pressing // button
Action is cellwriter.
Save, give it a name, and exit.

To autostart xbindkeys go to Go to System → Preferences → Startup Applications → Add
xbindkeys

WEBCAM
The webcam works in cheese and skype but is mirrored.

Make sure the following is installed:
$sudo apt-get install libglib2.0-dev libusb-dev build-essential gcc automake mercurial

Then
$ hg clone http://bitbucket.org/ahixon/r5u87x/
$ cd r5u87x
$ make
$sudo make install
$sudo r5u87x-loader –reload
$sudo apt-get install cheese

The Fujitsu LT c500 as an iPad

2010-05-01T13:13:00.001-04:00

How to turn a Fujitsu LT c500 Tablet PC into an iPad (sorta) - More DIY How To Projects

Ubuntu 8.10 on the Fujitsu lt c500

2010-04-30T13:00:00.000-04:00

If you want to run Ubuntu or some other Linux OS on it, the lt c500 presents an interesting challenge. There is a bit of information online and I owe much to those who have posted their findings and experiences. I found this link to be invaluable as well as this one and this one.

So I have decided to pull all the information together into a single document. perhaps it will be helpful to someone out there with an lt c500.

The lt c500 will not boot from a USB device nor an external optical drive (CD or DVD drive). So to install a new OS you'll need to remove the hard drive and temporarily connect it to another computer. And to connect the drive to another computer you'll need an USB 2.0 to IDE SATA for 2.5" 3.5" HDD Adapter Cable.

I bought mine from ebay for under $10.00.

Through trial and error, I found that Ubuntu 8.10 is the best distro for my model. However, I was not able to work out an onboard keyboard to login with. I followed advice I found on the Ubuntu Forums without success, so my compromise is to set the log in automatically feature during installation.

To remove the hard drive first remove the battery, then lay the unit face down and remove the panel on the far right side of the back. It is secured with 2 screws.

Slide and lift the panel and you should see your hard drive and a brown connector ribbon.

The ribbon is connected to the motherboard on the left side. Gently lift this end and unplug it. You should now be able to remove the hard drive. Remove the sleeve and put it somewhere safe.

The next step is to remove the ribbon connector from the hard drive. This is the hardest part of the process. The ribbon could easily damaged and it is very snugly attached to the hard drive. I used a razor blade to pry a space between the connector and the hard drive and then I used a small screw driver to continue lifting the ribbon until I could lift it completely off the drive.

Now, you'll need access to a laptop computer. Advice I have come across, suggests to use a computer with a similar processor. Whether that makes a difference or not, I don't know. I used an Eee Pc 900. I removed the hard drive from the Eee Pc as well. Once that was done, I plugged in the Eee Pc and then attached the hard drive from the lt c500 via the USB 2.0 to IDE SATA for 2.5" 3.5" HDD adapter cable. I also plugged an external cd drive to the netbook with a copy of Ubuntu 8.10 in it and then booted the computer. The rest is pretty straightforward. Follow the onscreen instructions to install and let it do its thing. Once the installation is finished, it will ask you to reboot. Follow the prompts to shut down and remove the disk but then turn OFF your laptop rather than letting it reboot with the hard drive attached.

Re-install the hard drive in the LT c500. Reattach the ribbon connector, put the drive back in its sleeve, and plug the other end into the back of the computer. Finally, screw the panel back on and attach the battery. Plug in your Fujitsu and it should boot right up with your new OS!

There are of course a few tweaks to be made to get the touchscreen working, but they are pretty easy to fix.

In a terminal run
sudo apt-get update

Then
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-fpit
sudo apt-get install setserial

Then
sudo dpkg-reconfigure setserial

From there set the configuration to manual. Exit.

Then type
setserial -g /dev/ttyS*

That should give you a read out like this
/dev/ttyS0, UART, 16550A, Port: 0x03f8, IRQ:4
/dev/ttyS1, UART, 16550A, Port: 0xfd68, IRQ:5 (this is your touchscreen)
/dev/ttyS2, UART, unknown, Port: 0x03e8, IRQ:4
/dev/ttyS3, UART, 16550A, Port: 0x02e8, IRQ:3

Now enter
sudo gedit /var/lib/setserial/autoserial.conf

In this file comment out all the lines. Add # in front of each. Then at the bottom of this file add the line
/dev/ttyS1 uart 16450 port 0xfd68 irq 5

Save and close.

Now finally modify your xorg.conf file.
From terminal type
sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Replace that file with this one

# /etc/X11/xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)

Section "Module"
 Load "bitmap"
 Load "ddc"
 Load "int10"
 Load "vbe"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
 Driver  "kbd"
 Option  "CoreKeyboard"
 Option  "XkbRules" "xorg"
 Option  "XkbModel" "pc105"
 Option  "XkbLayout" "hu"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier "Configured Mouse"
 Driver  "mouse"
 Option  "CorePointer"
 Option  "Device"  "/dev/input/mice"
# Option  "Device"  "/dev/psaux"
 Option  "Protocol"  "ImPS/2"
 Option  "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
 Identifier "TOUCHSCREEN"
 Driver  "fpit"
 Option  "Device"  "/dev/ttyS1"
 Option  "Passive"  "true"
 Option  "SendCoreEvents" "true"
 Option  "AlwaysCore"  "on"
# Option  "DebugLevel"  "3"
 Option "Baudrate" "9600"
 Option "MaximumXPosition" "4096"
 Option "MaximumYPosition" "4096"
 Option "MinimumXPosition" "0"
 Option "MinimumYPosition" "0"
 Option "TrackRandR" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
 Identifier "Cyber 9525"
 Driver  "trident"
 BusID  "0:20:0"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 Identifier "L70S"
 Option  "DPMS"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier "Default Screen"
 Device  "Cyber 9525"
 Monitor  "L70S"
 DefaultDepth 24
 SubSection "Display"
  Depth  24
  Modes  "800x600" "640x480"
 EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
 Identifier "Default Layout"
 Screen  "Default Screen"
 InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
 InputDevice "Configured Mouse" "CorePointer"
 InputDevice "TOUCHSCREEN" "SendCoreEvents"
EndSection

Section "DRI"
 Mode 0666
EndSection

Save file. Close. Close terminal.

Reboot.

You should now have a working touchscreen.