PCLinuxOS goes the extra mile

Ever since my exploration of the various PCLinuxOS spins, I've been impressed with the project. Now that I'm having so much relative success with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, it's unlikely that I will be running PCLinuxOS on my Gateway Solo 1450 laptop, but a) you never know and b) I'm looking for a good system to install for others, and PCLinuxOS is a top contender in that department.

Since I achieved the holy grail in the world of the Gateway Solo 1450 and Linux, that grail being properly working Suspend/Resume, I know that, at this point in time, Ubuntu is the best distribution for this hardware. But if I could learn more about how Suspend/Resume work, I might be able to level the playing field and run anything I want.

I've reached this point when it comes to managing the Gateway's CPU fan. I can make most any version of Linux turn the fan on and off at the proper times (and temperatures) via ACPI. I can't do the same in OpenBSD (although I really, really want to ... and I think I eventually will do it), and in FreeBSD it works automatically on the day of install and then not at all after that. But in Linux, I've got it down.

I'd like to be at the same place with Suspend/Resume. But where to start? As I've said, Ubuntu 8.04 is the first and only distro to properly Suspend/Resume this laptop. So it's certainly possible to do it with just about any modern Linux kernel, right?

Just to see where I'm at, I did a few tests with live CDs. Fedora 8 and CentOS 5 would suspend the Gateway but wouldn't resume it.

Since PCLinuxOS is renown for its hardware detection, I wanted to see how it did on Suspend/Resume.

I had discs of PCLinux2007, PCLinuxGNOME-2.21.2 and PCLinuxOS-mini-me, but I couldn't find any of them. So I reburned PCLinux2007 and downloaded the newer PCLinuxOS-GNOME-2008.

First of all, Suspend/Resume wasn't available as an option in the KDE-based PCLinux2007. When I checked the power management in KDE, I was told that I had to enable ACPI first. Since ACPI was already enabled, I didn't know what to do next.

I moved on to PCLinuxOS-GNOME-2008. First of all, the 2008 GNOME disc offers a radically different-looking desktop when compared to that of the GNOME-2.21.2 spin. I thought the earlier GNOME desktop was way, way too boring. The 2008 version, however, has a futuristic, dark theme that reminds me of the mini-me spin. I like it. I don't think it's "me," but I do like what I see.

I tried to suspend the Gateway from PCLinuxOS-GNOME-2008, and I got a message that Suspend failed. But I also got some help. There was a link in the message to the HAL Quirk Site, where one of the links focuses on ways to fix poorly sleeping PCs.

I haven't been through it yet, but I do plan to scour the site for hints on how I can tame Suspend/Resume on this laptop. It's a nice touch from the PCLinuxOS team: Something doesn't work, but you immediately get the help you need to tackle the problem. Very nice, indeed.

While I continue to admire PCLinuxOS, I'd love to get Suspend/Resume working in Debian Lenny, the distro I use the most. Without Suspend/Resume working there, however, I will most likely be migrating over to Ubuntu on this laptop. I left the Gateway on for most of the weekend, seeing how the Suspend/Resume worked in Ubuntu 8.04, and I continue to be amazed and impressed at how well Ubuntu is taking care of me. It seems like a little thing, but to me it's huge.

On a desktop, it's not such a big deal. But with global warming, not to mention the cost of electricity, power management should be a top priority for all hardware manufacturers and OS coders.

And if you like GNOME but haven't tried PCLinuxGNOME-2008, I strongly suggest that you take a look.