[indiana-discuss] Tim's 0.02

[Shawn Walker]

On 10/06/07, Gary Gendel <gary at genashor.com> wrote:
> This is a very nice list. But it would be nice to expand it. For example the
> power management doesn't work on my Dell 5160 even though it should. The APIC?
> tables need to be supplied somehow and there is minimal information on how to do
> this. Since Windows/Linux has no trouble with power management, Solaris
> shouldn't either. With Intel 3945abg support, I can finally think about putting
> OpenSolaris on my Lenovo laptop after a year.

Remember that Power Management does not work "perfectly" on Linux. Its
certainly far more progressed than on Solaris, but there are many
angry laptop owners that prove that it does not work perfectly. Unless
of course you are referring to your Dell 5160 for which I cannot
speak.

Power Management also doesn't work perfectly on Windows either (at
least not on my desktop though its supposed to).

Its one of those things that requires the support of every device,
driver, and piece of software in the system to work "just right."

Power Management highlights one of my growing concerns about people
and this project. Every since it was announced I've seen people add to
a "wishlist" of things they want to see this project do.

However, what they seem to not realise is that there are already many
projects going on right now to give them the things they are asking
for. There are already a few Power Management related projects on
opensolaris.org to improve Power Management in OpenSolaris. There are
already projects to improve the installer, bundled software, improve
hardware support, the desktop, etc.

I think it would be great to have this project as an "umbrella
project" to put all of that other work going on together since its
already being done.

> I heartily agree here. The only issue is that the system requirements of the JDS
> is growing each release. Let's keep in mind that people want this on current
> generation laptops.

It is? In what way is the requirement growing other than disk space?
Do you have any specifics?

> Fuse is another prime example of something that is really needed now. It would
> provide access to network and local file systems that are becoming more
> routinely used. The fuse team seems to be moving along but I still don't see the
> light at the end of the tunnel.

Quite a bit of progress is being made on FUSE, as is other projects.
I'm subscribed to way more opensolaris.org mailing lists than I
probably should be (or was a short time ago), so I can assure you
there is plenty of progress on many fronts ;)

-- 
"Less is only more where more is no good." --Frank Lloyd Wright

Shawn Walker, Software and Systems Analyst
binarycrusader at gmail.com - http://binarycrusader.blogspot.com/