[Howto] Asus T91MT and Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick)

[yatt]

Hi, ya'll. So with the release of Maverick, I've been working to get my T91MT working as well as it did with Lucid. I figured it would be nice if I have posted my progress as a guide, and perhaps other people will be able to share the missing parts they have working.

So here is my guide to using Ubuntu 10.10 on your ASUS T91MT.

Installation:

Install Ubuntu as per normal (or possibly update from Lucid). This will work from a fresh install, and it shouldn't matter which flavor of Ubuntu you choose.

Graphics:

The ASUS T91MT uses a Intel GMA500 for graphics. To make that work, we have to install the poulsbo driver from a ppa. With a graphical tool, you can copy and paste ppa:gma500/ppa in the add source dialog. Then install poulsbo-driver-2d, poulsbo-driver-3d, and poulsbo-config. Or from the command line:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gma500/ppa && sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install poulsbo-driver-2d poulsbo-driver-3d poulsbo-config

For three packages, it takes a fair amount of time. When it finishes, reboot and notice your screen works a a much nicer resolution. Unfortunately, the graphics driver does not support compositing. This means Compiz, Unity, and KWin's effects cannot be used.

Source

Touchscreen

No longer do we need to compile a kernel! H3g3m0n provides an updated multitouch-kernel-source to work with Maverick. Download it, extract it, install it, reboot.

That was easy.

Two Finger Scrolling

Here is a nice script to make two finger scrolling work on the touchpad.

#!/bin/bash

sleep 10
xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Two-Finger Scrolling" 8 1

xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Two-Finger Scrolling" 8 1 1

xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Two-Finger Pressure" 32 10

xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Two-Finger Width" 32 8

xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Edge Scrolling" 8 0 0 0 

xinput set-int-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Jumpy Cursor Threshold" 32 110

synclient TapButton2=2

exit

Save the file to .multitouch.sh (the dot at the beginning makes it a hidden file). Make it executable through either Right Click -> Properties or:

chmod +x .multitouch.sh

Then make it run on startup from System->Preferences->Session (can someone who uses Gnome verify this?) or System Settings->Startup and Shutdown.

Source

Rotate Button

Warning: I tried this, and my wireless stopped working (It did make the rotate button work). However it seems to work for the folks at =t101]eeeuser.com, so I will post this in hope it works for those daring enough to try.

Create the file /etc/acpi/events/asus-rotate-t91 and add to it:

event=hotkey (ATKD|HOTK) 0000007b
action=/etc/acpi/rotatescreen.sh

Then edit /etc/defaults/grub and add acpi_osi=Linux to the line starting with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT (make sure you paste it inside the quotes). This is the part that caused my wireless to stop working. If you are affected in the same way, simply undo this line.

Finally edit the file /etc/acpi/rotatescreen.sh and add to the end:

INPUTDEV="9"
ROTATION=`cat /var/lib/acpi-support/screen-rotation`
case $ROTATION in
    normal) xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axes Swap" 8 0
       xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axis Inversion" 8 0 0;;
    left) xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axes Swap" 8 1
       xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axis Inversion" 8 1 0;;
    right) xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axes Swap" 8 1
       xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axis Inversion" 8 0 1;;
    inverted) xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axes Swap" 8 0
       xinput set-int-prop $INPUTDEV "Evdev Axis Inversion" 8 1 1;;
esac

Other Hardware

AFAIK, the webcam only works in Skype. I have no idea if the microphone works at all. If anyone has an leads, please post in this thread and let me know!

Apps

The following is a list of apps that a generally useful with a tablet PC.

Xournal - Allows you to take notes using the stylus. It imitates writing notes in a standard notebook. However, it also allows you to import pdf files, and right your notes directly on the pdf. (Package Name: xournal)

Keyboard Plasmoid - Included with a default Kubuntu install, it is a onscreen keyboard app. Very handy for entering a short bit of text when in tablet mode (Package Name: plasma-widgets-workspace)

[kathleenhenri]

I can't wait to try this.
Because of the time required to compile the kernel - I'll probably have to wait till the weekend to give it a go.
I'll report my experiences after that.

[rentabuddha]

Thank you so much for this!

I've completed it now and everything seems to be working perfectly!

To get the touchpad working check out this script:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...ouchpad&page=4
post #37

I've finally got my Asus T91MT up and running to full potential with 10.10 desktop edition. The netbook session using Unity still doesn't work... has anyone found a solution to this? I've got the drivers, it logs in, but then just displays the wallpaper and randomly flashes warped desktop environment icons. Can the T91MT not handle these 3D graphics?

In any case, I'm happy with 10.10 so far. Thank you again for this great guide to setting it up on the T91MT! Win7 is molasses compared to this.

[yatt]

Thank you so much for this!

I've completed it now and everything seems to be working perfectly!

To get the touchpad working check out this script:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...ouchpad&page=4
post #37

Sweet! If it works for me, I will include it into the original post.

I've finally got my Asus T91MT up and running to full potential with 10.10 desktop edition. The netbook session using Unity still doesn't work... has anyone found a solution to this? I've got the drivers, it logs in, but then just displays the wallpaper and randomly flashes warped desktop environment icons. Can the T91MT not handle these 3D graphics?

No. The drivers don't support full 3D. So no Compiz, no KWin effects and no Unity. I'll update the OP to mention this.

In any case, I'm happy with 10.10 so far. Thank you again for this great guide to setting it up on the T91MT! Win7 is molasses compared to this.

You are very welcome. I couldn't believe how much faster Linux was than Windows 7.

[rentabuddha]

Hey so just a curious question... why do we comment out and blacklist the T91MT specific drivers? What exactly does this do? Or, if that isn't the case, what are we even doing when we do the comment out & blacklist step?

[jaz2099]

This is gonna be my first Linux experience, and I recieve the t91mt tomorrow but have been reading up the past couple of weeks in preparation and anticipation.

So a few questions:

1) Will this enable multitouch on the screen or just touch? Is it as robust as the win7 options? Is there a way to customize specific actions to perform certain tasks, like a 2 finger circular swipe to rotate the screen or something?

2) Will it have the same pressure sensitivity options?

3) Would it be advisable to follow the eeeuser wiki guide for 10.04 to install and tweak then upgrade to this for all the video and touch drivers, or just do a basic install from scratch starting at 10.10, disregard that wiki and follow from here?

4) Does this include functionality for the rotation button on the screen?

5) Will using a Dvorak layout affect functionality before, during, or after install?

Anyway, thanks a bunch. Really looking forward to checking out Ubuntu, but man it looks like I jumped into the deep end getting a t91mt. It was just too good to pass up tho. So from a newbie, know that all of you guys' hard work is insanely appreciated.


Edit: Wow, just saw the update at the eeeuser wiki lol. Very cool. Some clarification is still appreciated tho, with the touchscreen vs touchpad and touch vs multitouch stuff. Thanks again.

[H3g3m0n]

I modified the package from the chasedouglas PPA to work with T91MT, maverick and the new kernel.

Since it uses DKMS this should allow for a much simpler install without needing any source code changes or kernel recompiles.

Grab it from here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1507489

[yatt]

Hey so just a curious question... why do we comment out and blacklist the T91MT specific drivers? What exactly does this do? Or, if that isn't the case, what are we even doing when we do the comment out & blacklist step?

When you comment out the T91MT driver, you are removing it from a blacklist which prevents it from being compiled/used. When you add it to the blacklist, you are blacklisting the multitouch feature (ie reducing it to single touch). This is done because with multitouch enabled all clicks move the mouse to the very top left (which is probably why Linus has it blacklisted).

NB - The OP has been updated so this question doesn't make as much sense. It does provide some insight on why touch doesn't work out of the box.

[yatt]

This is gonna be my first Linux experience, and I recieve the t91mt tomorrow but have been reading up the past couple of weeks in preparation and anticipation.

So a few questions:

1) Will this enable multitouch on the screen or just touch? Is it as robust as the win7 options? Is there a way to customize specific actions to perform certain tasks, like a 2 finger circular swipe to rotate the screen or something?

Just singular touch. Multitouch is currently broken.

2) Will it have the same pressure sensitivity options?

I didn't even know that it had pressure sensitivity under Windows, or what it would be used for. My guess, would be no.

3) Would it be advisable to follow the eeeuser wiki guide for 10.04 to install and tweak then upgrade to this for all the video and touch drivers, or just do a basic install from scratch starting at 10.10, disregard that wiki and follow from here?

Either option works. However, it does mention that you have to tweak Grub to get the rotate button to work and this made my wireless stop working. Specifically adding "apci_osi=Linux" part.

4) Does this include functionality for the rotation button on the screen?

I will add it to my guide, with a warning.

5) Will using a Dvorak layout affect functionality before, during, or after install?

Nope. When you first boot from the live-usb you can select dvorak by pressing F3. After that, everything will be dvorak for you.

[rentabuddha]

I attempted to get the rotation button working, but nothing really happened. My wireless still works, which is a bonus I suppose.

When I try to run the script (or when the button tries to run it), it gives me an error saying that /var/lib/acpi-support/screen-rotation does not exist. That would definitely explain why its not rotating, but why is this missing is the next question.

Regular T91MT using this guide to install... any ideas or suggestions on how to make my computer create and keep this file updated?