One of these days she will guess my password then the real fun begins.
Tag Archive for 'Laptop'
It all started with a Dell E248WFP being dropped on our desks and the sad realization that my BigLap just couldn’t drive it no matter how hard I coaxed it. My bosses very graciously offered to replace my notebook and a couple of quick emails with Earl set me on the path to the MegaLap.
ZaReason was great about setting up a test environment to make sure that the notebook could easily drive a similar monitor. As always, they were fast and friendly with awesome tips on how to get things rolling once my MegaLap landed on my desk.
All that real estate leaves me feeling like a robber baron not to mention that the MegaLap is blazing fast and the screen is gorgeous.
So this is my second notebook from ZaReason (my BigLap is still a champ!) and I have to say I am so pleased with the service and support. they aren’t kidding when they say, “Building Linux hardware so you don’t have to.” Everything I have bought from them has worked right out of the box, no fuss and no bloat. Just an elegant OS making use of all the hardware it is given.
Thanks to everyone at Zareason for making my computing life fun!
MegaLap Specs
- Intel Core2 Duo T7200
- 2GB RAM
- 512MB NVidia GeForce Go 7700
- 200GB SATA
In my personal life I am incredibly lazy and often don’t et around to things unless need is so pressing that it should have been done yesterday. Case and point being recording support on my BigLap and the continuing mockery that I suffer for it not working and the fact that I lost my Bluetooth headset thus rendering Skype useless to me. So after some quick research I found the solution on the Ubuntu forms thanks to dejitarob.
james@elwoodicious:~$ sudo alsactl names
james@elwoodicious:~$ sudo alsactl store
james@elwoodicious:~$ alsamixer
The catch here was that the input sources needed to be pointed at Front Mic and Mic.
james@elwoodicious:~$ sudo alsactl store
That’s it. Skype works, Sound Recording works, Ekiga…Doesn’t. Not sure why Ekiga doesn’t but that’s a puzzle for another day. Well, it does after a reboot. Go figure.
Stuffed into my new bag from Timbuk2…
Top: paperback for downtime, O’Reilly books for work (Yay Bash and Vim!), note pad, baby toys.
Middle: AC power, mouse, 2 sets of headphones (someone is always asking for a spare set), screwdriver, usb mini for camera, phone charger for car and converter for wall (I’m on the phone all the time!), Cat5 cable for when there is no wireless or someone’s crappy Windows machine needs work, blank CD-R, blank DVD-R, Canon 350D manual (lot’s to learn, more to remember!).
Bottom: My awesome BigLap from ZaReason!
Figured since I’ve been working hard and lugging my laptop all over the place it would be nice to have custom bag from Timbuk2…
Should be here sometime next week.
It has been about three months since I purchased my BigLap and started a new job that sees me working like a gypsy floating from place to place as long as it has wireless Internet. My laptop goes everywhere slung on my back and has worked perched on a knee at conferences, sticky tables at cafes, late nights in hotel rooms, and at my parent’s dining room table while my daughter tugs at my sleeve. It feels as necessary as my wallet and keys and I feel a little naked if it isn’t on me.
So how has it performed? Unbelievably. I’ve owned a number of laptops from Toshiba, Dell, and Sony and out of all of them this has been the best build quality and features for the price.
- Battery life is solid
- Light for being a 17″
- Screen hinges are stiff
- Keyboard responsive and quiet
- Rugged design
Tech support from ZaReason has been equally great with quick response times with a genuinely conversational and friendly tone. They have worked hard to make sure that as much of the hardware is operational with the shipping version of Ubuntu. The built in webcam is the only piece that has given me problems in that the image displayed is upside down and cannot seem to be flipped but that is more a problem with the device and the driver.
segue/
After actually putting five minutes of work into researching the solution it is now fixed…
Gratefully cribbed from 0graham0’s post over at Ubuntu forums…
sudo mkdir /etc/camdriver
Download the driver from Sourceforge extract it and run the following…
sudo make
sudo modprobe videodev
sudo modprobe v4l1-compat
sudo insmod stk11xx.ko vflip=1
Add the following to /etc/modules
videodev
v4l1-compat
and to /etc/rc.local
insmod /etc/camdriver/stk11xx.ko vflip=1
Viola!
/segue
The great thing about ZaReason though is that they never dropped the issue and had emailed me possible solutions and are very receptive if you happen to stumble on one of your own and that level of service is what makes the company so great.
Bottom line: I love this laptop and I really love this company.
