Linux device compatibility status:
| USB, 2 ports : [ALi] M5237 USB (rev 03) | Working. Use ohci device hub |
| (win)Modem, Xircom: Unknown device 002b | Working. winmodem support. |
| Ethernet (builtin) Intel Corporation 82557 [Ethernet Pro 100] (rev 09) | Working. |
| PCMCIA Texas Instruments PCI1410 PC card Cardbus Controller (rev 01) | Working. |
| Sound ESS Technology ES1969 Solo-1 Audiodrive (rev 02) | Working. |
| Video ATI Technologies Inc Rage Mobility P/M (rev 64) | Working. XFree86-4.1.0 XF86Config |
| Infrared | Unknown (haven't tested, may not work) |
| Power Management | Partial, no working suspend. You must use ACPI. |
Exact system information:
| kernel config | lspci -vv | dmesg |
I installed redhat-7.1 and redhat-7.2 on this laptop. Some hand configuration was required to make everything work. Currently, I'm using a linux-2.4.17 kernel.
The lack of suspend is a very serious issue although not fatal to the usefulness of the laptop. The laptop can run for (perhaps) 9 hours with minimal power utilization.
I have one other minor complaint: the system is overly dongleful. There is a dongle for the VGA port and a dongle for the ethernet port. Neither of these appear to be necessary from an engineering point of view - the machine could have been built with a direct vga and ethernet port.
If this laptop had working suspend, I would recommend it without hesitation. As it is, I consider it a reasonable machine which might become very fine when (and if) suspend works.