Re: ASUS F8SG using Ubuntu
Have you had the chance to try a live 64 bit Ubuntu or any other 64 bit distro?
Re: ASUS F8SG using Ubuntu
Ah, you have this laptop as well?
I'm running 64-bit Intrepid currently, no big problems, what I had was easily addressed through this forum. I'd be willing to share the specific steps I took to get this guy up and running, if anyone is interested.
Re: ASUS F8SG using Ubuntu
I was actually considering buying either the N80Vn-X1 or the F8Sp-X1. Both have similar architecture so I figured if a F8 series could run 64 bit the others could too. I am interested in the "steps" you had to take however.
Re: ASUS F8SG using Ubuntu
Okay, for a bit more background, then, I do some amateur recordings and editing so I'm using Ubuntu Studio, 64 bit. Which is just 64 bit Ubuntu with some other programs, an RT kernel (which doesn't work for 8.10, but nevermind), JACK, and nice themes. Basically meaning, no big difference :).
Anyway, here's my personal notes on what I would have to do to get my system back to this state. Some of this stuff is personal to me and not necessary for everyone. This isn't specifically for 64-bit, however, there are specific 64-bit things somewhere here.
Code:
Re-modify /etc/fstab
Also, install samba and smbfs from the repositories for windows networking
This is done because I have a dual-boot setup. Basically I modify fstab so that I can mount my shared data drive in a particular location, with full permissions, and samba/smbfs allow me to connect to shared drives in my office.
Code:
Setup Nautilus bookmarks
Install EnvyNG-core (GTK was deprecated somehow)
Run in terminal, select 177. driver.
Restart needed at this point.
The bookmarks are for my own navigation to certain key directories (I don't use the home folder much, use my shared drive for everything). I use EnvyNG to install the proprietary nvidia drivers.
Code:
Install compizconfig-settings-manager, emerald, fusion-icon
Add trunk PPA for Avant
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/awn-testing/ubuntu intrepid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/awn-testing/ubuntu intrepid main
Install all contents
Install pidgin, pidgin-guifications, thunderbird, add the multi-platform lightning add-on
Install sun-java6-bin and sun-java6-fonts for Java, flashplugin-nonfree for Flash
Some software I use. I prefer the trunk repo for Avant because they have nicer and more up-to-date applets. I use Pidgin, Thunderbird, and Firefox both in Windows and Linux, with shared profiles on my shared drive (lightning is platform specific but can be shared as well, I followed a guide on how to do that. Its in their wiki). The java I've installed is for Eclipse IDE (my programming environment) and Matlab, SOME java webpages don't work, but not a biggie for me. Iced Java works, in this case, but its slower for actually running apps. You can have both installed and can select specifics for each app, I believe. Flash is for flash, of course.
Code:
Install developmental Wine using
wget -q http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/387EE263.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/intrepid.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list
Or refer to http://www.winehq.org/site/download-deb
Also alsa-oss from repositories. This is 64-bit, so you need to download the 32-bit alsa-oss from packages.ubuntu.com, extract the /lib files to /usr/lib32
This is the most 64-bit specific part. I use the latest Wine just to report bugs (haven't found any yet) with the programs I use (mainly games, and esword). Alsa-oss is the best way to get sound through pulseaudio from Wine, but 64-bit doesn't play nice with 32-bit wine, so I install the 32-bit Alsa-oss. Wine doesn't come in 64-bit, but can be installed anyway. Lots of dependencies though.
Code:
Install Unison 2.27.57 from the repositories
I use this program for backup and synchronization. Very recommended. Multi-platform as well.
Code:
Setup Vista fonts using vista-fonts-installer.sh and setup proper smoothing using the appropriate .fonts.conf (or copy .fonts.conf and symlink to existing .fonts folder)
Add medibuntu repository using
sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/intrepid.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update
Install build-essential, googleearth-*.*, skype, msttcorefonts, firestarter, gparted, grsync, cheese, rar, p7zip-full, w64codecs, gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly, gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad, amarok, libxine1-allplugins, totem-xine, gnome-do
These are proprietary stuff I add. Vista fonts I got from a guide in these forums, makes Openoffice more compatible. I use google earth extensively, and the rest are programs (and codecs/audio) that I use often.
Code:
Edit xorg.conf adding SHMConfig option for touchpad and multi-display settings. Also add the following two lines to /etc/udev/rules.d/10-local.rules for mouse plugin/out to turn off/on the touchpad.
ACTION=="add", SUBSYSTEM=="input", ID_CLASS="mouse", RUN+="/usr/bin/synclient TouchpadOff=1"
ACTION=="remove", SUBSYSTEM=="input", ID_CLASS="mouse", RUN+="/usr/bin/synclient TouchpadOff=0"
Basically allows my touchpad to be turned off. If you're interested in this I can post up my xorg.conf.
Code:
Follow the guide to compile FFmpeg from source. Follow the steps in the "Modified..." file.
Install openoffice.org, openclipart-openoffice.org, gnumeric
Follow the guide under "Multiple Sound Solution" for running jack with Pulseaudio. Add the following lines to /etc/security/limits.conf
@audio - rtprio 99
@audio - nice -10
@audio - memlock 452192
Add your user to the audio and pulse-rt groups
Setup readahead for shorter login time.
Some other stuff. I use ffmpeg for video/audio conversion often, and need an un-stripped version, hence the need to compile from source. There is a guide in these forums for setting up Jack and Pulseaudio properly, which I use since I do audio recording. Readahead is something I just found, cuts almost half a mintue off my login time.
Now that I've looked back through that, nothing much different with 64-bit setup, really. Issues with Wine (only 32-bit) and Firefox plugins (flash and java) are really the only things I've come across, both easily solvable.
Re: ASUS F8SG using Ubuntu
I do tend to get ahead of myself from time to time. The alsa based sound did not work at all. Adding this option comes from searching other sources, I don't take credit for it.
