Ironhide branch first release including Ubuntu Natty packages

martinjuhl has released a new branch of his bumblebee code named Ironhide:

This version features:

* Graphical User Interface for Configuration and Submitsystem.
* Tests build into the Configuration, for easy bug reporting.
* Major cleanup, removed all content not related to Ubuntu.
* Updated VirtualGL.

The Ironhide packages conflict with bumblebee, so you should be asked to remove the old packages when installing Ironhide. If your having problems getting ironhide to work, please reboot after uninstalling bumblebee, and then rerun ironhide-configuration.

https://launchpad.net/~mj-casalogic/+archive/ironhide/

Installation notes:

If you want newer versions of the nvidia packages, the X-org edgers repository works great with Ironhide:

https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa

When new versions come out, just rerun the configuration.

Report problems/issues here:

https://github.com/MrMEEE/ironhide/issues

The new Bumblebee Project is still available here:

https://github.com/Bumblebee-Project/Bumblebee

Tweaks to Extend The Battery Life of Intel Linux Notebooks @ www.phoronix.com

Tweaks to Extend The Battery Life of Intel Linux Notebooks @ www.phoronix.com

There is number of arguments that can be passed to the open-source Intel Linux DRM kernel driver to reduce power consumption. These enable power-saving features of the Intel Linux graphics driver that aren't enabled by default at this time, commonly because for some hardware configurations they can cause stability problems or other issues.

i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 - RC6 was enabled by default for a while, but then it ended up being too buggy for some hardware configuration so it had to be disabled. For affected systems on the current code-base, enabling RC6 can cause GPU hangs. The Intel RC6 feature allows the GPU to enter a lower power state when the GPU is idling.

i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 - This kernel option enables FBC (frame-buffer compression) for the Intel graphics driver. Frame-buffer compression is not enabled by default since for some systems when frame-buffer compression is active there is a bug where the screen is not being properly repainted when using a compositing window manager. As implied by the name, frame-buffer compression will compress the buffer of what's to be drawn to the screen so that less memory bandwidth is used on screen refreshes, and as a result, less memory being confused.

i915.lvds_downclock=1 - This kernel option will down-clock the LVDS refresh rate, which can increase power savings as a result. However, for systems that do not properly support LVDS down-clocking, the screen can begin to flicker during use.

These options can be added to GRUB boot-loader when booting the system, to the grub.cfg file to be made permanent, or can be passed if manually loading the Intel i915 kernel module.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z570, Z470 and Z370 with hybrid graphics

Lenovo IdeaPad Z570, Z470 & Z370 multimedia notebooks get Sandy Bridge

Lenovo‘s updated Z Series multimedia notebooks have had in injection of Intel’s latest Sandy Bridge processors, with the IdeaPad Z570, Z470 and Z370 built around 15.6-, 14- and 13.3-inch displays respectively and a choice of Core i3, i5 or i7 CPUs. The IdeaPad Z470 and Z370 come with eye-catching fuchsia, sky blue or dark brown transparent covers, while the Z570 is a little more sensible with an Accutype chiclet keyboard and metallic-effect casing.

 

Inside there’s NVIDIA GeForce 410M 1GB graphics on the Z370 and GeForce 525M 2GB graphics on the Z470 and Z570; RAM is up to 8GB while storage is up to a 1TB, 7200rpm HDD. There’s a choice of DVD or Blu-ray, along with optional Bluetooth, while WiFi b/g/n and gigabit ethernet are both standard.

Problems with HDMI in a Linux hybrid graphics laptop? Please report to xorg

The display drivers will sometimes not play well with the HDMI output to your external monitor in a linux hybrid graphics laptop. Some models have HDMI output connected to the discrete nvidia or ATI card, whereas some have it connected to the Intel integrated card.

If you are having problems with HDMI output, please submit a bug report to the xorg package. Open a terminal window and type:

apport-bug xorg

(Choose 'Yes' if you see a warning about end of technical support)

Then type a description of your problem in the launchpad web page that will appear in your browser.

If you cannot follow these steps while the laptop is connected to the external screen, please still submit the bug report with the laptop disconnected from the external screen, since most useful information will still be processed.

Once submitted, please send an email to the launchpad hybrid-graphics-linux mailing list with the launchpad bug id. It will be something like:

http://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/829981

Thanks!

A BIOS update has been released for the AMD muxless HP dv6/dv7 61xx series

A BIOS update has been released for the AMD muxless HP dv6/dv7 61xx series.

This for laptops with a 6470M(?) or 6770M.

The update enables Fixed Mode in the BIOS for discrete-only operation

with the Sandy Bridge IGP acting as a mux.

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp54001-54500/sp54024.exe

Bumblebee error messages after update, extended solution

Bumblebee error messages after update, extended solution:

$ sudo update-alternatives --remove-all gl_conf

$ sudo dpkg-reconfigure nvidia-current

If it fails, then

$ sudo apt-get install --reinstal nvidia-current

Dell Alienware M11xR3 (release 3), Linux and Bumblebee

Dell Alienware M11xR3 (release 3), Linux and Bumblebee:

Alienware m11xr3 and bumblebee: Unity working on Ubuntu 11.04.

Current issues:

* Laptop may lock up during stress testing

* Laptop locked up when left on over night

* Batter life not good, a bit over 2 hours on normal use (browsing, editing documents).

* Linux LED changing utility has not been updated for the R3 version of this laptop.