Update
I broke this Ubuntu install when trying to replace grub with burg. I’ve been wanting to try out distros like Meego, ChromeOS or even Android. I will post if I manage to get something work.
Tried a recent version of Splashtop but that doesn’t go past the splash screen. My general recommendation is not to buy this and go for something with full Linux support - netbooks/notebooks from system76 for example. If you have bought this, then read on!
I installed Ubuntu 10.04 on a Sony Vaio P series laptop recently. These are some notes I took during the process.
The Vaio VPCP11Z9E has the form factor of a netbook and is extremely light (600g approx) but has features not normally found in a netbook - WWAN, GPS etc., Here is a rundown of the specifications
- Intel® Atom™ Processor Z560
- 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM
- 128 GB SSD Flash Drive
- 8.0 inch display with 1600 x 768 max resolution
- Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 500
- GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G WWAN, Webcam etc.,
Full specifications here The system came pre-installed with Windows 7 Professional, a lightweight Splashtop Linux instant on partition for web access and a Windows 7 recovery partition.
Installation
The Ubuntu desktop live cd iso can be downloaded from here. The same page has instructions on how to use the downloaded iso.
Check Step 2 “Burn your CD or create a USB drive”
Once I have the Live system running, I did the installation from there. Here are some screenshots
Timezone selection
Selecting keyboard layout. /dev/sdb was my USB drive. Selected ‘No’
Prepare disk space (partitioning)
Confirm partition changes and installation
Create a new user
Installation progress
Configuration
Before configuration, it is essential to boot to Windows 7 and activate all wireless related functions. This can be done from the network applet in system tray. I came to know about this from some forum posts and don’t understand why this is the case! For example, if the bluetooth is switched off from the Windows side, functionality is disabled in Ubuntu.
Activate wireless functions in Windows
Graphics card (Intel GMA500)
The Intel Poulsbo drivers were not installed during the Ubuntu install process and need to be installed separately. Without this, the response was slow though the screen resolution was at maximum. I followed instructions from the Ubuntu wiki to get the Intel drivers installed. To summarize what I did here. Open Terminal (gnome-terminal)
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The wiki also suggested changing grub parameters
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Change
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to
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followed by
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Reboot to use the new drivers.
Audio
This is the only major issue I have at the moment. There is no sound through the built-in speakers. It works when I connect the headset that came with the system. Microphone works too. I tested this by making a Skype test call
Update: Audio from internal speakers work with Ubuntu 10.10
WiFi
Worked. Just needed to select the access point and specify the passphrase. Got connected immediately.
Bluetooth
Phone
Paired my Motorola Milestone and could send and receive files.
Headset
Paired a Jabra BT3030 stereo headset and could route audio to it. I had to select the device in the Output tab of ‘Sound Preferences’
Select the Bluetooth headset to send audio
The sound wasn’t great at first as it was using the “Telephony Duplex (HSP/HFP)” as the profile for the headset. Changing this to “High Fidelity Playback (A2DP)” gave a better quality audio.
Function (Fn) keys
The keys for controling volume, brightness work.
Wireless WAN (3G)
The SIM from a 3G modem can be inserted into a dedicated slot which can be accessed after removing the battery pack. The device then appears in Network Manager and a connection can be setup. It still needs the wireless switch to be left “On” to work.
Wireless WAN (3G)
Webcam
Appears to work as I could take a photo but then there is no display either in Skype or Cheese which I used for testing.
Trackball and touchpad on the sides of the display
Both work now. Thanks to Alex (see comments). Add
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to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT in /etc/default/grub
and do an
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Not tested
GPS
Additional software
I could easily find and install most of the software I needed using ‘Synaptic Package Manager’. I also installed Boxee and Google Chrome by downloading the deb packages from the respective websites.
Performance
Here is a video I took which might give an idea about the performance of the laptop. First, I tried playing a youtube HD video. Playback is fine but no video is displayed in fullscreen which I tried towards the end of the youtube video. This could be a flash player specific problem as vlc and boxee work fine in fullscreen mode. Then I opened gimp and loaded a 1.3mb file. This is followed by launching OpenOffice, Firefox and Chrome.
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feh2DxnsRxo
To summarize, I find Ubuntu working really well on the Vaio P and have no problem using it for day to day tasks. But, I would not consider using it for heavy duty tasks and would avoid the small screen if possible,