[9fans] Plan9 laptop

[9fans] Plan9 laptop

[Brad Frank]

I am trying to run plan9 on my Thinkpad T60, and I can't get video
working correctly with the vesa driver. Has anyone gotten the Mobility
x1400 to work with the vesa driver?

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[vdharani]

>> a new laptop of your choice + vmware is also not a bad idea.
>
> Hi.
>
> Thank you for this idea. It creates a few more questions though ;)
>
> A shop nearby is selling laptops that have been "tested with Linux". These
> laptops have Transmeta processors and have no cooling fans. Will plan9 run
> on
> these unusual processors natively and/or under vmware?
in general, the easy way is to assume any x86 (or clone) box will run plan
9 and try to boot. The bootable CD is a good option. Also, you could
attempt to install plan 9 (but need not actually install it) and see if
you come all the way upto graphics mode. If so, chances are high.

if a box is known to run winxx, linux, and any other popular OS without
any platform-specific code, one could safely assume it will work.

i would expect plan 9 to run on transmeta processors. the problems could
arise not with the processor but with the devices and controllers. if you
intend to use it as just a CPU server, chances are high. in your case, i
dont think thats the case.

under vmware, it shouldnt be a problem.

> driver
> is binary only with an open source stub. Is it possible to rewrite the
> stub
> so the driver will work under plan9?
no. it is like trying to put a honda engine in a toyota car. porting linux
driver in source form onto plan 9 itself it a difficult task.

this is what i think: stick to ibm t21 or t23 thinkpads. probably t40.
else laptop + vmware.

Regards
dharani

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[andrey mirtchovski]

> this is what i think: stick to ibm t21 or t23 thinkpads. probably t40.
> else laptop + vmware.

T30 too (well, all radeon Txx laptops really)

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[Nick Jamieson]

> a new laptop of your choice + vmware is also not a bad idea.

Hi.

Thank you for this idea. It creates a few more questions though ;)

A shop nearby is selling laptops that have been "tested with Linux". These
laptops have Transmeta processors and have no cooling fans. Will plan9 run on
these unusual processors natively and/or under vmware? The Linux modem driver
is binary only with an open source stub. Is it possible to rewrite the stub
so the driver will work under plan9?

Many thanks,

Nick

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[andrey mirtchovski]

>> the T30 has a radeon card which should
>> work with Philippe Anel's drivers just fine.
>
> Are there any vga drivers outside sources?
> I mean, we don't have too many cards, even if there is no entry
> by default in pcdisk, why dont we include all the drivers we have in
> the std distribution?
> Perhaps this is already done, and I'm just aslept...

I think there's a licensing (oops, said the L-word again) issue with
the radeon drivers, since they were derived from XFree86, which
prevents them from being included into plan9 on sources.

that's how i'd explain it.

it may be a good idea to have the driver in the installation CD
kernel, even though the sources aren't distributed.

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[Fco. J. Ballesteros]

> the T30 has a radeon card which should
> work with Philippe Anel's drivers just fine.

Are there any vga drivers outside sources?
I mean, we don't have too many cards, even if there is no entry
by default in pcdisk, why dont we include all the drivers we have in
the std distribution?
Perhaps this is already done, and I'm just aslept...

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[andrey mirtchovski]

> i'm in a similar situation so i
> would like hear from you, too...
>
> ++pac

the ibm laptops from the T series are good.  -- T21, T23, T30 are the
ones i have personally tried.  the T30 has a radeon card which should
work with Philippe Anel's drivers just fine.

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[Fco. J. Ballesteros]

> a new laptop of your choice + vmware is also not a bad idea.

The tiny vaios used by paurea and kleal here are really cool.
They use vmware to run Plan 9 on it. I just love them (the vaios ;-) ).

[9fans] plan9 laptop

[cej]

i'm in a similar situation so i
would like hear from you, too...

++pac

Re: [9fans] plan9 laptop

[vdharani]

> I shall buy a laptop soon and I'd like to run plan9 on it with support for
> the
> graphics card, mouse, modem, ethernet card and sound card -- in that order
> of
> preference. I'm assuming that the cpu, memory, keyboard, etc. are likely
> to
> be compatible ;)
>
as far as i know IBM Thinkpad T23 model is one that runs plan 9 well and
recognizes most of the devices you said. of course there are variations
within t23 but still any t23 is better than other laptops as far as plan 9
is concerned.

> I have not had success with the modems or the sound cards in any of the
> computers I have used for plan9 so far. That is, I am not confident that I
> could make these work on a laptop for which this is possible. Therefore, I
> may not recognize a compatible laptop when I see one ;)
>
> Is there a kernel configuration and a collection of shell scripts that I
> could
> try on a prospective laptop to test for compatibility?

i dont think there is one such thing. in general, i would attempt to use
the bootable CD or try to install plan 9. in the process, i can check what
best screen resolution and depth i can get. then the network interface.
then modem and sound card. CPU, memory and keyboard should be fine, i
think.

a new laptop of your choice + vmware is also not a bad idea.

thanks
dharani

[9fans] plan9 laptop

[Nick Jamieson]

Hi.

I shall buy a laptop soon and I'd like to run plan9 on it with support for the
graphics card, mouse, modem, ethernet card and sound card -- in that order of
preference. I'm assuming that the cpu, memory, keyboard, etc. are likely to
be compatible ;)

I have not had success with the modems or the sound cards in any of the
computers I have used for plan9 so far. That is, I am not confident that I
could make these work on a laptop for which this is possible. Therefore, I
may not recognize a compatible laptop when I see one ;)

Is there a kernel configuration and a collection of shell scripts that I could
try on a prospective laptop to test for compatibility?

Many thanks,

Nick