On 10/23/2014 11:27 AM, Chris Schanzle wrote:
> On 10/23/2014 11:23 AM, Yasha Karant wrote:
>> On 10/23/2014 04:47 AM, Nico Kadel-Garcia wrote:
>>> On Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 1:07 AM, Yasha Karant <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>> Is anyone running SL 7 on a Dell Latitude E6540?  My institution is
>>>> considering this unit over the equivalent HP unit, to replace the five year
>>>> old laptop that I currently use, because of the net lower cost of the Dell.
>>>> Dell claims that it will run Linux Ubuntu 12.04 -- but I do not know if this
>>>> enthusiast Ubuntu has more "secure boot", etc., capabilities than SL7x.
>>>>
>>>> Any information, on or off list, greatly would be appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Yasha Karant
>>> I'm afraid I don't have one in hand myself. Have you considered
>>> burning a live CD or USB bootable image, visiting a computer store or
>>> someone in your IT group who has one, and taking a test drive with it
>>> with their permission? Laptop support for Linux can sometimes be
>>> tricky as vendors use slightly cheaper, newer chip sets that no one in
>>> th eLinux world has had a chance to test with, but I find that
>>> technique very useful to ensure basic bootability and X windows
>>> operation and peripheral operation.
>> Thank you for your suggestion.  Unfortunately, this Dell model that claims to be engineered and built to meet
>> FIPS 201-certified smart card and fingerprint readers and RSA SecurID along with a MIL-STD-810G-tested chassis typically
>> is not available in the local mass merchandiser computer laptop stores (Office Max, Staples, etc.).  When my wife's laptop was stolen and we had to replace it out of our personal budget (her department had no funds to buy a replacement Faculty laptop because the university is "self-insured" for many situations, including that one), I did take a SL6x bootable DVD and found a machine for which SL6x would boot and that had sound, 802.11 WNIC, video card, DVD drive, pointing device, etc., fully supported by SL (not requiring proprietary MS Win drivers).  The first several low priced laptops did *NOT* meet this criterion, but a Lenovo did.  Unfortunately, consumer (low price) Lenovo is of poor mechanical quality (hinges/chassis already fatigue fractured), and unlike Dell or HP, Lenovo refuses to supply the service manual and full parts list, nor will it sell parts.  Also, several stores would NOT let me do a DVD boot and run (not install) -- and thus i could not test which, if
>> any, machines for sale would work.  i suppose if we buy the Dell and it does not work we could attempt to return it, or I could be forced to switch to Ubuntu (not appealing).
>
> Thanks for adding more basic criteria to check.
> I got some e6540's and planned to test them out soon...I'll try to get one fired up today.  I don't expect any issues with sl7 (I'll actually be using CentOS 7...I'm a "SL Lurker" after being a short-lived SL user).
>
> If you think of other basic requirements, let me know.

Sorry, I was mistaken, I don't have e6540's.

just got some e7440's (very small and light, very good performance) is working well...wired network (pxe-boot kickstarts), suspend/resume, wireless, sound (youtube)
keyboard volume up/down/mute shows changes onscreen, but doesn't change volume
fn keys to change screen brightness works, but is a little slow/delayed (about 1sec per press)

e6330 is working similarly well...no nvidia graphics on these, is an option on bigger 6530's, for example, but don't recommend for laptops...too power hungry (and optimus is a pain unless running ubuntu/bumblebee).

we aren't using PIV/CAC card readers (yet).

also have e7240 with 1080p touchscreen (glossy, likely for windows users) and some 1366x768 non-touch (matte finish, nice, but a bit low on the dpi).  I think screens are for viewing, not touching.

as delivered, secure boot was disabled.