Review: Linux on the IBM z60t

I’m a software developer, both professionally, and as a hobby. So, at any one time, I’ve got at least two laptops on my person, and at least one runs Linux. Those that don’t run Linux had the OS pre-installed by the client that insists that I use only their hardware. Whatever.

When I decided to buy a laptop for personal use, I had a few years of experience to pull from. I’ve run Linux on laptops from most of the major vendors:

• Dell (Several models)
• Toshiba
• E-Machines
• Gateway
• IBM

All with limited success, especially with early versions of Linux. I started Linux on Slackware, then switched to Redhat, and more recently to Fedora. All of my laptop experiences have been with Redhat derivative distributions of Linux.

A good friend of mine is an IBM Territory Partner Manager, and he offered me his IBM discount. That, coupled with IBM’s stellar support of Linux, sealed the deal – I’m getting an IBM.

My criteria were:

• Modestly powerful
• Epic Battery Life
• Somewhat svelte
• Rugged

All of which were more than satisfied by the IBM lineup. After seeing a z60t, I decieded that would be the machine for me. The hardware specs are (shamelesly pulled from ThinkWiki.org):

My Configuration

(~$1300)

• Intel Pentium M (Dothan) 1.73, 1.86 or 2.0GHz
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 video controller
• 14.0″ wide-screen TFT display with 1280×768 resolution
• 1GB PC2-4200
• 40GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
• AD1981HD HD Audio 1.0 controller
• Intel_82801FB_HDA Intel High Definition Audio Controller
• UltraBay Slim with DVD±RW (dual layer)
• Broadcom 10/100/1000 Ethernet
• CDC slot (1) with a ThinkPad 56K Modem (MDC-1.5)
• ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini Express Adapter
• IBM Embedded Security Subsystem 2.0
• Integrated Fingerprint Reader on select systems
• UltraNav
• IEEE1394 (Firewire) on select systems
• CardBus slot (Type 2)
• SD Card Slot

Weight and Dimensions

• Weight: 2.2432 kg
• Travel weight: 2.053 kg
• Height: 26.6 mm
• Width: 334 mm
• Depth: 228 mm

So, once I finally took delivery of this laptop, I immediately dd‘d the Windows partition (just in case), and put Fedora Core 5 on it. Now, everything on the laptop did not work “out-of-the-box”, but, after a little configuration, a few downloads, and a kernel update or two, it’s all working! No ndiswrapper needed, sound works, USB, firewire, screen, monitor output, DVD, SD Card slot (whoopee!), fingerprint reader, hibernate / suspend, etc.

The best site on the web for IBM+Linux foo is ThinkWiki.org. Those guys have all the part numbers, links to all the drivers, postings from folks with similar hardware – everything for the new IBM owner. Many thanks to a well-run community site!

What I like about this machine:

Small

It’s a widescreen model, so the keyboard is plenty large, but the machine is thin and light. It’s exactly what I wanted as far as size and weight goes

Touchpad

Lots of IBM machines have shipped without a touchpad, but, I can’t function without it. Works like a charm.

Atheros Wireless

All the other laptops I’ve loaded Linux on have had Broadcom chipsets. The Atheros chipset based wireless was a big selling point for me. I’m using the madwifi-ng drivers, and I’m pretty sure I needed that to get WPA support working with NetworkManager. I’m using the Subversion build, and have been for a while. I’ve never had one bit of trouble out of the tip of the Subversion trunk

Battery

I got the extended battery, even though it added a little weight. I’ve never been disappointed.

Suspend

How did we ever live without Suspend? I’ve only used Hibernate (to disk) a few times, but it works too.

Keyboard

The most important part of a laptop (in my world) is the keyboard, and this one rocks. My hands are large, and I don’t feel cramped at all. Everything is there, and in the correct place. I really notice it when I use any other brand of laptop.

What’s not-so-hot about this machine

CPU

It seems I bought this machine just days before all respectable machines went dual-core. I’ll admit I had a bit of CPU-Envy towards a couple of guys that got a t60 a month after I bought mine. After a good bit of soul-searching, I’ve realized that my machine stays clocked down at 800mhz most of the time. I don’t write C++ or Java on this machine (Ruby and Perl, mostly), so I don’t have long compile cycles to worry about. Bottom line – It’s just what I need

Screen resolution

I’m an XEmacs user, so I can slice and dice the screen as I see fit. Also, I’m a virtual desktop power user, so I’ve got lots of real-estate for full-screen apps. If I used Eclipse, or just about any IDE, this screen would be too low-res. Again, just what I need, probably not for everyone.

Windows Key

This IBM has a Windows key – go figure. I don’t use it, but I think that it works.

So, this machine, warts and all, is my personal coding machine. I only have to reboot when there’s a new kernel, I authenticate with the fingerprint reader (one finger is me, one finger is root), and generally love every minute of coding on it. I keep trying to convince my wife she needs one, but she’s wedded to the Microsoft Natural keyboard, for some reason.

dhw

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