Linux on Mobile Devices: A Concise Guide for Laptops, Notebooks, PDAs, and Phones

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"《Linux on the Road》是一本由Werner Heuser编写的指南，专注于Linux在移动计算设备如笔记本电脑、便携式个人数字助理(PDA)、手机以及其他可携带设备上的应用。该书提供了一个全面而简洁的文档概述，特别是针对这些设备的Linux安装方法以及在不同网络环境下的配置。作者强调了Linux作为移动计算机设备选择的优势，包括支持多种安装方式、适应各种异构环境以及对资源需求较低的特点。版本3.22的《Linux Mobile Edition》在2011年进行了修订，增加了如电子邮件列表地址、图形卡电源管理、关于Intel Linux PowerTop项目的简要介绍，将Suspend2功能替换为TuxOnIce，还加入了OpenSync和Funambol同步软件的链接。此外，书中还包含了关于固态硬盘(SSD)的一些注意事项，以及对多个URL的校验和一些小改进。前几版中也包含了对错误的修正，如2005年11月的修订中就处理了一些拼写错误和小问题。这本书不仅提供了技术细节，还可能涵盖了如何在Linux环境下优化电池续航、如何设置无线网络连接、如何管理和同步数据，以及如何应对特定硬件设备的兼容性问题。作为一本持续更新的资源，它反映了Linux在移动设备领域的最新进展和技术趋势，是系统管理员、开发者和Linux爱好者在移动场景下进行工作或娱乐的理想参考工具。"

I. Laptops and Notebooks

Table of Contents

1. Which Laptop to Buy?

1.1. Introduction

1.2. Portables, Laptops/Notebooks, Sub/Mini-Notebooks, Palmtops, PDAs/HPCs

1.3. Linux Features

1.4. Main Hardware Features

1.5. Sources of More Information

1.6. Linux Compatibility Check

1.7. Writing a Device Driver

1.8. Buying a Second Hand Laptop

1.9. No Hardware Recommendations

1.10. Linux Laptop and PDA Vendor Survey

2. Laptop Distributions

2.1. Requirements

2.2. Recommendation

3. Installation

3.1. Related Documentation

3.2. Prerequisites - BIOS, Boot Options, Partitioning

3.3. Linux Tools to Repartition a Hard Disk

3.4. Laptop Installation Methods

3.5. Common Problems During Installation

I. Laptops and Notebooks 4

Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy?

1.1. Introduction

Portable computers may be divided into different categories. This is a subjective decision, but I try to do so.

My groupings roughly follow the generally accepted marketing categories. The criteria could be:

Weight: Often expressed in terms like Portables, Laptops/Notebooks, Sub/Mini-Notebooks,

Palmtops/PDAs. There is no standard method to define the weight of a laptop, therefore the data

provided by the manufacturers (and which are given below) have to be considered as approximations.

The question is how the power supply (whether external or internal) or swappable parts like CD and

floppy drive, are included in the weight.

Most peripheral cables are appallingly heavy. If you get a subnotebook and carry it around with a

bunch of external drives, cables, and port expander dongles and power converter, you may be lugging

a heavier bag than if it were all in one box. Subnotebooks are useful mainly if you can afford to leave

all the other junk behind.

Supported Operating Systems: proprietary versus open2.

Price: NoName versus Brand3.

Hardware Features: display size, harddisk size, CPU speed, battery type, etc.4.

Linux Support: graphics chip, sound card, infrared controller (IrDA®), internal modem, etc.5.

1.2. Portables, Laptops/Notebooks, Sub/Mini-Notebooks,

Palmtops, PDAs/HPCs

1.2.1. Portables

Weight greater than 4.0 kg (9 lbs). Features like a PC, but in a smaller box and with LCD display. Examples:

lunchbox or ruggedized laptops (e.g. BSI Computer ).

1.2.2. Laptops/Notebooks

Weight between 1.7 and 4.0 kg (4 to 9 lbs). Features custom hardware and usually a special CPU. Examples:

HP OmniBook 3100, COMPAQ Armada 1592DT. The terms laptop and notebook seem equivalent to me.

1.2.3. Sub-Notebooks/Mini-Notebooks

Weight between 1.3 and 1.7 kg (3 to 4 lbs). Features: external floppy drive, external CD drive. Examples: HP

OmniBook 800CT, Toshiba Libretto 100, COMPAQ Aero, SONY VAIO 505.

1.2.4. Palmtops

Weight between 0.7 and 1.3 kg (1.5 to 3 lbs). Features: proprietary commercial operating systems. Examples:

HP200LX.

Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy? 5

1.2.5. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)/Handheld PCs (HPCs)

Weight below 0.7 kg (1.5 lbs). Features: proprietary commercial operating systems and often non-Intel CPU

with commercial operating systems like PalmOS, EPOC32, GEOS, Windows CE. Examples: Newton

Message Pad, Palm III (former Pilot), Psion Series 3 and 5, CASIO Z-7000.

1.2.6. Wearables

Watches, digital pens, calculators, digital cameras, cellular phones and other wearables.

1.3. Linux Features

Due to a lack of support by some manufacturers, not every feature of a laptop is always supported or fully

operational. The main devices which may cause trouble are: graphics chip, IrDA® port, sound card, PCMCIA

controller , PnP devices and internal modem. Please try to get as much information about these topics before

buying a laptop. But often it isn't quite easy to get the necessary information. Sometimes even the

specifications or the hotline of the manufacturer aren't able to provide the information. Therefore I have

included a Linux Compatibility Check chapter in every section of Part V in Linux on the Road Hardware In

Detail below.

Depending on your needs, you might investigate one of the vendors that provide laptops pre-loaded with

Linux. By purchasing a pre-loaded Linux laptop, much of the guesswork and time spent downloading

additional packages could be avoided. See TuxMobil for a survey of Linux laptop, notebook, PDA and mobile

phone vendors.

1.4. Main Hardware Features

Besides its Linux features, there often are some main features which have to be considered when buying a

laptop. For Linux features please see Part V in Linux on the Road Hardware In Detail below.

1.4.1. Weight

Don't underestimate the weight of a laptop. This weight is mainly influenced by:

screen size1.

battery type2.

internal components, such as CD drive, floppy drive3.

power supply4.

material used for the case, usually they are either from plastics or from magnesium.5.

1.4.2. Display

Recent laptops come with active matrix (TFT) displays. Laptops with passive matrix (DSTN) are no longer

manufactured. Active matrix displays have better color and contrast, but usually cost more and use more

power. Also consider the screen size. Laptops may be purchased with screens up to 17". A bigger screen

weighs more, costs more, and is harder to carry, but is good for a portable desktop replacement.

Linux on the Road

Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy? 6

1.4.3. Batteries

The available battery types are Lithium Ion (LiIon), Nickel Metal Hydride ( NiMH) and Nickel Cadmium

(NiCd). Though almost all current laptops come with LiIon batteries.

LiIon batteries are the most expensive ones but a lot lighter than NiCd for the same energy content, and have

minimal - but present - memory effects. NiMH is better than NiCd, but still rather heavy and does suffer some

(although less than NiCd) memory effects.

Unfortunately most laptops come with a proprietary battery size. So they are not interchangeable between

different models.

1.4.4. CPU

1.4.4.1. Supported CPU Families

For details about systems which are supported by the Linux Kernel, see the The linux-kernel mailing list

FAQ.

i286: Linux doesn't support this CPU family yet. But there are some efforts at ELKS. If you like, you

may use Minix, which is also a free Unix operating system. Minix supports 8088 to 286 CPUs with as

little as 640K memory. Actually there are some laptops with ELKS and MINIX around.

i386: This covers PCs based on Intel-compatible processors, including Intel's 386, 486, Pentium,

Pentium Pro and Pentium II, and compatible processors by AMD, Cyrix and others. Most of the

currently available laptops use Intel compatible CPUs and have quite good Linux support.

m68k: This covers Amigas and Ataris having a Motorola 680x0 processor for x>=2; with MMU. And

the early Apple/Macintosh computers.

There was a long series of Apple PowerBooks and other laptops based on the m68k chip. Macintosh

Portable (an ugly 16-pound first attempt); PowerBook 100, 140, 170, 145, 160, 180c, 165c, 520c,

540c, 550c, 190; Duo 210, 230, 250, 270c, 280. The PowerBook Duos were available at the same

time as the PowerBooks, they were a sort of subnotebook, but were designed so that you could plug

them into a base station (a DuoDock) with more RAM, peripherals, etcetera, so that they could also

act as a desktop computer. The first PowerPC PowerBooks were the ill-starred PowerBook 5300

(after the 190) and the Duo 2300c.

For a complete list of all Macintosh computers ever made, with specifications, see Apple-History .

For Linux installation reports see Linux Laptop and Notebook Survey: Apple.

The proper place to go for information on running Linux on m68k Macintoshes is linux-m68k.

"Much like laptops of the Intel/Linux world, Mac laptops have generally different setups that can be

very hard to figure out. Also, because of a general lack of machines to test, we are only aware of

boots on the Powerbook 145, Powerbook 150, Powerbook 170, Powerbook 180, and Powerbook 190.

Even if it boots, we currently have no support for Powerbook-style ADB, the APM support, or just

about anything else on them. This means the only way to log in is with a terminal hooked up to the

serial interface, this has been tested on the 170."

"Several Powerbooks have internal IDE which is supported. PCMCIA drivers will be forthcoming if

someone can supply the necessary hardware information to write a driver. As always, an FPU is

Linux on the Road

Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy? 7

needed also. Many of the later models have the 68LC040 processor without FPU, and many of these

processors are broken with respect to the FPU trap mechanism so they can't run regular Linux binaries

even with FPU emulation. Current status on Powerbooks 140, 160, 165, 165c, 180c, 190, 520 and

Duos 210, 230, 250, 270c, 280, and 280c is unknown."

Also there are two Atari laptops, for which I don't have enough information. The following quotations

are from the Atari Gallery.

"The STacy was released shortly after the Mega ST to provide a portable means of Atari computing.

STacy computers were shipped with TOS v1.04.

Designed to replace the STacy as the defacto portable ST computer, the ST Book brought the basic

computing power of an ST to a lightweight notebook computer. This machine was only released in

Europe and Atari only shipped a very small quantity. The ST Book was shipped with TOS v2.06."

From Stok, Leon <stok_AT_YIS.NL>: The STacey and the ST Book, both can't run Linux since they

are only shipped with an 68000 CPU, which doesnt have a MMU unit.

As far as I know Amiga has never produced laptops. One company manufactured kits to convert

desktop Amigas to portables. These used regular Amiga motherboards so any Linux setup that

supports the regular Amiga setups will support these.

Alpha, Sparc, Sparc64 architectures: These are currently under construction. As far as I know there

are only the Tadpole SPARC and ALPHA laptops, and some other ALPHA laptops available.

NatureTech offers also SPARC CPUs in laptops. The TuxMobil survey of Solaris on laptops and

notebooks may also be helpful.

StrongARM: a very low-power CPU found in Rebel.com's popular NetWinder (some kind of mobile

computer, too), and actively supported in the Debian project, it is also in several WinCE machines,

such as HP's Jornadas. Only the lack of tech specs prevents Linux from being ported to these tiny,

long-battery-life machines. A full-scale StrongARM-based laptop would make a superb Linux

platform.

For PDAs with ARM/StrongARM CPU see the Part II in Linux on the RoadHandheld Devices part

below.

MIPS: Used in SGI mainframes and Cobalt Micro intranet appliances, chips based on this architecture

are used in many Windows-CE machines. Linux has been ported to a few of these.

AMD Processor: More about Linux on AMD processors may be found at x86-64 org . At TuxMobil

there is also a survey of laptops with AMD CPUs .

64bit CPUs: At TuxMobil there is a survey of laptops with 64bit CPUs .8.

1.4.4.2. Miscellaneous

At higher speed, a CPU consumes more power and generates more heat. Therefore, in many laptops a special

low-power CPU is used. Usually, this special CPU doesn't use as much power as a similar processor used in a

desktop. These special CPUs are also more expensive. As a side effect you may find that laptops with a

desktop CPU often have a quite noisy fan.

Linux on the Road

Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy? 8

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