Okay, the T42 can *finally* run like a laptop should in Linux. Out of the box, Kubuntu 6.06 will support external keyboard/mouse and wireless. Here are the things you have to do to get the rest working.

-- Josh Karlin   (karlinjf_at_cs.unm.edu)

Sleeping:


Go to system settings in KDE -> Laptop Battery -> Button Actions-> Suspend with lid switch close.

Thinkpad scroll button:


Add the following lines to /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Option "EmulateWheel"
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "2"

Video Card (as well as mp3, codecs, java, etc..):


Head on over to easyubuntu.freecontrib.org and do as the download instructions say, making sure to install the ATI drivers

Once that's done with, run the following commands:
sudo -s
aticonfig --initial
aticonfig --overlay-type=Xv
Resolutions: Add any supported on your laptop and external monitors
aticonfig --resolution=0,1600x1200,1400x1050,1280x1024,1024x768,800x600

Here is my xorg.conf if you would like a reference. It's for a Radeon 9600.

External Monitors:


This is the best part. In windows with the IBM drivers it's possible to use the desktop manager to switch screens / resolutions with the push of fn+f7 and the click of a mouse. Here, we can do it with a hotkey!

This is KDE specific but the same effect can be had with a shell script.

Manual Monitor Change:
To switch monitors, run the following:
aticonfig --enable-monitor=STRING
where STRING is either: lvds, tmds1, or crt1
lvds = your laptop display
tmds1 = dvi
crt1 = crt port

You can also get dual displays by running --enable-monitor=STRING,STRING but that makes my computer crash at the moment :(

Manual Resolution Change:
Start 'krandrtray' from a terminal or the run command
To make it always come up at login run 'krandrtray --login'

There is now a nice icon in your tray with which to change resolutions.

The method we will use in the automated method is to use 'xrandr'.
Type 'xrandr -q' from a terminal to get a listing of possible resolutions
Typing 'xrandr -s 0' will select the resolution associated with item 0 in the list.

Automated Change w/ a hotkey:
Head on over to kde menu -> system settings -> regional & accessibility -> Input Actions

Once there, create a "New Group" and title it 'Monitor'
Within group, create 3 new actions named 'CRT', 'DVI', and 'Laptop'

These are the triggers that I use and suggest that you use:
Laptop: alt+shift+1 (comes out as Alt+!)
DVI: alt+shift+2 (comes out as Alt+@)
CRT: alt+shift+2 (comes out as Alt+#)

Next, create a New Action (Command/URL) for each screen:

Here is the action for 'Laptop'
aticonfig --enable-monitor=lvds ; xrandr -s 0
Note! Set the xrandr -s to the proper resolution from 'xrandr -q'.
You need to first switch to the monitor and then run xrandr -q.
For me (0) winds up as 1400x1050

Here is my action for my 1600x1200 DVI monitor:
aticonfig --enable-monitor=tmds1 ; xrandr -s 10

And here is my action for projectors at 800x600:
aticonfig --enable-monitor=crt1 ; xrandr -s 2

Remember, you can always manually change the resolution later with the krandrtray icon.

That's it for the setup. Hit 'apply' and get out of there. Now you can use those shortcuts to change monitors and resolutions on the fly!