Greetings all!

I finally got around to installing Slackware 12.0 on my Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop with an Intel 950gm graphics card, nice! I did the usual xorgconfig and was happy to discover KDE running at 1280x800 automagically with a simple startx. I know it wasn't that big of a deal to have to grab a copy of 915resolution (you even have to with Ubuntu 7.04) but this is just another nice/handy feature of the latest Slackware. On a side note, I hate to admit that I used to think Slackware was, umm, well, "conservative". Now with the new Xorg and 2.6.21 kernel, Slack is actually more cutting edge than many "trendy" distros.

Back on subject, I just wanted to get the word out about 915resolution in case it was causing a potential Slacker to hesitate installing this wonderful Linux. All of us with Intel graphic cards will now have more time to slack

Now I just need to grab ipw3945 from extras and find a good xorg.conf setup for this synaptics touch pad and this Slacktop will be almost complete.

I read that for most touchpads, they work out-of-the-box with basic features (click, right-click, etc.) but you need a driver to get advanced features (scroll, etc.) I found this to be true for my Toshiba, which also uses a Synaptics touchpad.

I'm no Linux expert, but as long as you chose "PS/2" as your mouse port in Setup in Slackware 12.0, both the touchpad and a USB mouse should work out-of-the-box. Mine did. I haven't downloaded the driver for the touchpad yet, but another post somewhere here said you get it from http://web.telia.com/~u89404340/touchpad

If you already did this (and still need to adjust Xorg.conf) I apologize.

Thanks for the link ShellyCat.

Yes, basic features did indeed work "out of the box". With this computer, and I'd wager the Dell/Ubuntu E1505 model also, you'll need the driver from your link (thanks again) to have scroll and other advanced functions. I also had to comment out blacklist psmouse in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist (this had me going nuts until I tracked it down), but now I have vertical and horizontal scroll, YEAH BABY, YEAH!

I'm just blown away with how fast Slackware 12.0 is on this laptop. I've had several versions of Ubuntu, OpenSuse 10.1, Linux Mint, Windows XP, a few I'm forgetting and even Sabayon 3.3b mini on this machine and Slack is the fastest so far.

Next up is the ipw3945 wireless and then I'll probably work on the media/Fn keys. I would be happy to post here, if anybody else would like to know what I find, or I could just dump it on my blog and not clutter up the forum. Which is the better?

Both! (Why not?)

I suppose it's better, though, to just put a link here to your blog and maybe put just a list of your hardware below that, so people will find your post on a search of the forums. Also, the big site people seem to go to for laptop information (I found the link both here and at Toshiba's website) is TuxMobil.org. I think you pretty much surf to the appropriate location and put a link to your own page/blog, by the computer model and Linux distro/version, then many, many people will find your blog. Some people just make a list of what works and what doesn't, some put step-by-step instructions (especially people who compile the kernel).

I know I would have appreciated such a page, though I was able to at least find out which hardware was supported, by looking at the most recent models in the M115 line, whose owners installed Ubuntu. One of the links was Portugese, one was English.

@HackingYodel - thanks for the info! I have two dell laptops - one with i945GM is still pending slack12 upgrade.

multimedia keys are pretty easy to set up (link in my sig) some WM require more work than others but all should work.

Thanks, both of you, for those links.

I'll post a link here to a complete write up as soon as I get it together. I keep breaking my Slackware install, in the name of science , but I'm keeping notes and will do a step-by-step article as soon as I get my kernel tweaked out.

I can't remember the last time I had this much fun, and learned as much, by pushing something until it goes boom and then starting over. Each install is quicker and cleaner than the one before and with the exception of Arch, other distros are starting to feel dirty and sluggish now.

I am quickly becoming a complete Slacker.

@HackingYodel,

Was this a fresh install or an upgrade? I've been trying to get 915resolution to work on my Slackware 11 box at work for quite some time, with no real success (I've never gotten it successfully into widescreen).

Thanks,
Joel