Note:

This is the second in a series intended to document and share my attempts at finding, installing and maintaining a Linux-based laptop computer. Feel free to post your own experiences. Comments, suggestions, corrections are all welcome!

Freeing the Windows-Bundled laptops

Luckily, while doing the rounds of computer shops in search for a laptop computer running on Linux (or any free/open source operating system), someone at the CompLink shop gave me a full-color catalog-price list.

Of course, most of the laptop and notebook computers have Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium installed in them. I asked the sales person if the customer could ask to have Vista removed. He said, yes. I asked if the customer could then pay for the computer less the price of the operating system, or get a refund. He said, no.

Since 10 years back, a few refunds to have the Windows operating system removed from notebook computer purchases have been successful. Australian Geoffrey Bennet successfully obtained refund for the Windows operating system pre-installed on his Toshiba laptop in 1998 (See "Toshiba/Microsoft Saga", http://www.netcraft.com.au/geoffrey/toshiba.html). In 2003, a small claims court in California awarded Steve Oualline a Windows refund (see "Getting a Windows refund in California Small Claims Court", http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7040). In 2006, Dell issued a refund to Dave Mitchell who never booted Windows on his Dell Inspiron 640m notebook computer, and never accepted the EULA (see "Dell customer gets Windows refund", http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2006/110706-dell-windows.html).

Recently, an Italian court in Florence ordered HP to refund a customer who did not want the pre-loaded Windows operating system (see "Court orders refund of pre-loaded operating system", http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7265/469). The complaint was filed by Aduc, an Italian consumer rights organization against HP in 2005, and the case ended in 2007 with the court rejecting HP's argument that it had no influence on Microsoft's End User License Agreement which instructs those rejecting the terms of the EULA (End User License Agreement) to contact the computer manufacturer for return of the unused product. The Italian court decided that the terms of the EULA are part of the trade negotiations between the two companies, and so ordered HP to refund 90 euros for the XP operating system and 50 euros for Microsoft Works. A French court has also come to a similar ruling ordering Acer to refund 311,85 euros to a computer buyer. Dell has also refunded two buyers, one in Great Britain and one in Germany. (See Aduc statement on Microsoft Windows refund, in Italian, http://www.aduc.it/dyn/comunicati/comu_mostra.php?id=178001)

So, it's not true that you can't get a refund. Although computer manufacturers may not have a refund policy, the EULA for software provides for refund on a case to case basis. According to the EULA of Windows operating systems, you can get a refund through the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer): IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS EULA, YOU MAY NOT USE OR COPY THE SOFTWARE, AND YOU SHOULD PROMPTLY CONTACT MANUFACTURER FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON RETURN OF THE UNUSED PRODUCT(S) FOR A REFUND IN ACCORDANCE WITH MANUFACTURER'S RETURN POLICIES.

Refund claims usually mean voiding of all software warranties for the computer. Also, OEM's often require that refund claims be made only within 30 (or so) days after purchase of the notebook computer and that the cost of transporting the computer to the OEM Repair Center for the removal of the operating system be shouldered by the customer.

Alternatives to the Win-bundle... but ...

Recently, however, computer manufacturers have started shipping notebook computers with alternative operating systems (such as Linux or FreeDos) or with no operating system at all. I asked the computer shops about these.

Acer had 4 notebook computers installed with Linpus Linux (a Taiwan commercial Linux distribution): AS 4715Z-2AO508Mi (PhP29,900), AS 2920Z-2AO508Mi (PhP39,900), AS4720-1A1G12Mi (PhP 44,900, marked "exclusive model") and AS 4520-501G12Mi (PhP39,900).

A brand called NEO had 4 notebook computers installed with something called "FREE DOS": Endura 540SL2c (PhP19,999), Endura 540SLe (PhP23,999), Endura 540SLx (PhP27,999) and Endura 572SLx (PhP35,999).

ASUS had the EEEPC 4GB Au701 (PhP19,800) installed with the Xandros Linux distribution, while the X80 (PhP34,900) and A8LE (PhP34,900), both came with no operating systems installed. However, in another shop, I saw the X80 running on Red Flag Linux, a Chinese Linux distribution (see http://www.redflag-linux.com).

HP had two models that had FREE DOS installed: Presario C733TU (PhP29,950) and Presario V3617TU limited (PhP34,950).

MSI (Micro-Star International) had 4 computers with no operating systems: VR320-H2 (PhP30,999), VR320-K2 (PhP34,999), S262-YA-TOO Pink (PhP34,999) and PR-400 (PhP39,999).

In one shop, I saw a NEO computer pre-loaded with the Ubuntu Linux distribution.

I also made some additional research on the Internet and found two useful resources for Linux on notebook computers. There's TuxMobil, http://tuxmobil.org, a website dedicated to Linux and mobile computers, with hands-on information, HOWTOs, and FAQs about installing and running Linux, BSD, Solaris and other unix-like operating systems on laptops, notebooks, handhelds, PDAs, mobile cellular phones, portable music and video players, GPS navigation devices, wearables and other portable computer gadgets. Then there's Linux on Laptops, http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/, a resource for reports on running Linux on a wide range of notebook or laptop computers.

OK, so there are alternatives to the MS Win-bundled laptops - but here's the catch: "Asus recommends Microsoft Windows Vista!"

In other words, you can use other operating systems such as Linux but getting it to work with all of the laptop hardware is going to be a pain in the ass.

The modem compatibility issue - my old Asus L2000E

My minimum requirement is that the notebook computer's internal modem should be Linux-friendly, and if LAN and Wi-Fi devices are compatible then all the better in the event these access points are all that's available when traveling.

According to the Knoppix liveCD, my old Asus L2000E notebook computer has a "0703: 1039:7013 (rev Modem: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] AC'97 Modem Controller (rev a0) (prog-if 00 [Generic])." According to FreeBSD, I have a "pci bus 0x0000 cardnum 0x02 function 0x06: vendor 0x1039 device 0x7013 Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] Intel 537 [56k Winmodem]." According to Windows XP, I have a Lucent Technologies Soft Modem AMR version 3.1.112, located at PCI Bus 0, device 2, function 6, with modem information VEN 1039, DEV 7013, SUBSYS 1616104, REV A0.

Sending ATI commands (ATI3 and ATI5) to the modem also identifies it, in terms of both the brand name and the SIL:ID, thus, Lucent Soft Modem version 3.1.112, AMR SiS MB, AC97 ID:SIL REV:0x27, 19.

The Intel 537 chipset is supposed to be supported in Linux kernel 2.6.nn releases after 2004, although it is likely that the FreeBSD has given a correct but inaccurate ID of my modem (since Intel 537 chipsets are sold to different modem assemblers). Knoppix's ID which coincides with Microsoft's, seems more accurate.

Intel 537 softmodem chipsets as well as a few AC97 softmodem controllers are produced by Intel, Inc. (vendor 8086), and there is support at http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/intel/Philippe.Vouters/ but, as mentioned above, my modem does not use Intel software at all but rather uses Lucent Technologies Soft Modem AMR (for audio-modem riser, which I think refers to sockets on the motherboard).

The closest to support for my modem (as a subsystem serving under AC97 controllers) with Linux kernel 2.6.nn are the slmodem-2.9.10 drivers (see http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/smartlink/). The slmdm-2.7.10 is recommended for use with Linux kernel 2.4.

While the SmartLink vendor (ID 163c) provides very good Linux support for the SmartLink chipsets, their drivers also seem to work with non-SmartLink soft modem chipsets under AC97 controllers although an AC'97 modem_codec is not found or listed in the modem scan.

The modem compatibility issue - Asus X80LE and Acer Aspire 4920

I am currently looking at two new models of laptops, both Taiwan manufactured, and both pre-installed with Linux. The Asus X80LE comes with Red Flag Linux and the Acer Aspire 4920 with Linpus Linux.

The Acer Travelmate series would probably have "Modem: 56K ITU V.92 modem with PTT approval; Wake-on-Ring ready" - usually identified by Linux scanmodem as a Conexant HSF Soft Modem, requiring special commercial Conexant HSF drivers available at http://www.linuxant.com/ and selecting the appropriate driver for the soft modem (at http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/index.php) and the Linux distribution kernel version. Since the drivers are not released under GPL, a full version must be purchased, otherwise the free version may be used with the 14.4kbps speed limitation.

The Acer Aspire series seem to have a "56K ITU V.92 data/fax modem (Intel AC'97 ICH4 Modem chipset)" which work with the SmartLink drivers as discussed above with drivers at http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/smartlink/. See the documentation by Juan Antonio Martínez "Acer Aspire 1410 success on Fedora Core 4" at http://www.dit.upm.es/~jantonio/personal/aspire1410 - where he uses a SmartLink driver and a patch for the 56K ITU V.92 data/fax modem (Intel AC'97 ICH4 Modem chipset).

The Asus X80LE model uses an Integrated MDC Fax/Modem. MDC stands for "Mother Daughter Card" which provides a mobile form-factor module and interface for audio and modem solutions based upon AC97 Rev. 2.1. This AC97 Modem Adapter is installed in a CDC slot (or Communications Daughter Card slot, an internal expansion slot for form-factor cards).

I assume that the Asus X80LE modem is an MDC V90 56k AC97 which features the Ambit (Lucent) chipset. AC97and Lucent-based linmodems should work with the SmartLink drivers. However, if it is an MDC on an ICH6 controller, then the SmartLink drivers will not work fully. In this case, the commercial Conexant HSF driver from Linuxant may be used, although the older ltmodem drivers (Lucent Technologies-based drivers) may work, see http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/.

The Fear of compiling modem drivers

After all that work identifying your modem (especially identifying the subsystem codec) and then finding the appropriate Linux driver for it, is the next step - compiling the modem driver.

Some Linux distributions may already have pre-compiled modem drivers for Winmodems but generally, this is not the case because Winmodems driver packages carry proprietary binary components that cannot be incorporated in Linux distributions. Unless one is able to use a serial modem with the controller chipsets (as these use the open source serial code, pre-compiled drivers are often included in Linux distributions), one will need to compile one's own Linux modem driver.

According to the Knoppix liveCD mode info generated during a modem probe:

"COMPILING is the process of converting human readable source code into compact binary code that the Operating System (OS) uses most quickly. For winmodems, code components from the modem chipset provider are combined with KERNEL-HEADERS, thus generating one or more binary modem drivers. They are commonly compiled as ModuleNames.o for 2.4.n kernels and ModuleNames.ko for 2.6.n kernels. They are installed into sub-folders of "/lib/modules/kernel-version/", therefrom they can be dynamically inserted into the boot kernel of the Operating System (OS) when needed, sometimes with auxiliary instructions from "/etc/modules.conf". They can be removed from the kernel when no longer serving, thus economizing on System resources."

And after compiling the modem driver, one would need establish a method of loading it (after checking for a symbolic link), and then configuring a suitable dialer to make the connection. Testing the connection also takes time as there could be numerous issues, commonly ethernet competing for DNS needed when using the browser, as well as issues related to the Internet Service Provider (some may not be Linux-friendly) or some PPP settings may need to be made for ISPs that assign dynamic DNS.

These, I'll take up on the next Finding Linux story.

Surviving the Adventure

It's all a lot of work, and I can imagine that a non-technical computer user would not be able to follow through all the steps required in getting a soft modem to work under Linux.

I wasn't able to get the modem to work on FreeBSD, later realizing that there is no FreeBSD driver for Lucent Soft Modem AMR although there is a driver for the Lucent LT softmodem chipset (see http://www.freebsdsoftware.org/comms/ltmdm.html). I guess a good programmer can port a working Linux driver to FreeBSD (which I haven't seen done at all, so I would appreciate updates!).

And that's just the modem. Other Linux-compatibility horrors in most modern laptops include Wireless LAN, the SVHS Video connector, the SVGA external connector (hotkeys not working for example), Software Suspend, monitoring for battery and AC status, the sound card might also conflict with the modem driver, and the IRDA port. Solutions range from simple manual editing of configurations to patching kernels, to finding suitable driver packages and compiling them.

If all else fails, logical solutions are serial modems, USB modems or PCMCIA card modems. Most laptops don't have serial ports to accommodate an external serial modem. USB modems generally are softmodems and will have the same issues as the internal modems. These external modems (which need external power sources) also defeat the portability of laptop computers. The PCMCIA card modems would probably be the best bet. See the "Linux PCMCIA/CF/CardBus Card Survey" at http://tuxmobil.org/pcmcia_linux_types.html

Anyway, at least, the sales people at the Silicon Valley computer shop seemed genuinely interested in getting Linux to work on their laptops. They were accommodating enough to let us try Knoppix and Ubuntu on the two laptop computers mentioned above. It also seemed that they were curious enough to try and learn how to make the system work with the hardware.

So that, hopefully, is going to be the next step.

Resources:

Linux support for modems is available thru http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/

A very good discussion list for modem support on Linux is at http://linmodems.org/

Internal Modems in Laptops and Notebooks with Linux (Compatibility Status) at http://tuxmobil.org/modem_linux.html

Linux and Windows on the Acer Aspire 3023 WLMi http://doube.org/3023wlmi.html

Laptops pre-installed with Linux may be found at http://www.linuxcertified.com/linux_laptops.html

Reports on running Linux on laptops may be found at http://www.linux-laptop.net/ as well as http://tuxmobil.org and http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/

Some links to reports on Linux on a variety of laptops are at http://www.linux.org/hardware/laptop.html

Red Flag Linux on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Flag_Linux and Red Flag Linux on DistroWatch http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=redflag

Linpus Linux http://www.linpus.com/

FreeDOS on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeDOS" and FreeDOS Homepage http://wiki.fdos.org/Kernel/HomePage