Dell Hardy "Wish-List"

Notes from session on 2007-11-01 at Boston UDS.

Process Enhancements

• Streamline Canonical Certification Process
• Duplicating Ubuntu Community Model to develop Dell-Ubuntu Community
• Hosting Dell add-on packages (fixes/workarounds/quirks/backports etc.) via custom APT repository

• Dell private rsync access to Ubuntu ISOs.

Software Enhancements

• Ubiquity installer to expose option to preserve '/home' data (for reinstalls)
  • Arbitrary filesystem preservation would be desirable
• Text-mode Installer option
  • Relationship to LiveCD/alternate installers

  • There is some work already done in Gutsy (pass noninteractive or textonly to the command line)

    • Tells Casper to skip X and jump straight to the text-mode installer
• Allow X configuration (screen mode) as a part of the System Configuration wizard
  • Have a look at Red Hat first-time install
  • Four attributes:
    • Driver (Core module)
    • Resolution
    • Depth
    • Refresh (technically "Vertical Sync Hz")
  • Extra page in OEM config and base on Python displayconfig-gtk.
    • Add ability to specify the bit depth
    • Add ability to specify the hsync/vsync
    • Have this pop up from ubiquity "Advanced gfx" button

• Improved Localization: Screen 1 of System Configuration Wizard and FireFox Start Page

  • Need to check that X can detect and report the country code for an attached laptop. If the user changes keyboards at runtime, what happens? Can the installer print "Choose a language" in a language appropriate to the keyboard.
  • Possible options:
    • Ask preferred language on the Website
    • Check USB keyboard IDs
    • Store destination country in NVRAM
      • (Add BIOS page to select this "out-of-band" country byte)
      • There maybe something mandated by Microsoft that could be followed
  • Try to show all the languages at once (buttons, instead of scrolling).
  • What does Apple do?
    • There maybe preseeding bugs around language/country/city/timezone/keyboard
      • Bugs can be fixed
• Touchpad enable-disable
  • GNOME Mouse Properties enhancements
  • Enable/Disable feature, auto-disable Touchpad on detecting external Mouse and Sensitivity control
  • Have Dell add a magic Fn key.
  • gsynaptic
  • Speed is nice
  • Enable/disable is the /real/ requirement.
    • Preserving policy
      • Start off by having a checkbox that is enabled/disabled by default.
      • Policy questions, across suspend/hibernate/mouse plug unplug.
  • Dell will document the policy decisions/trees used by the Windows equivalent applet
• Merging "Compiz config-settings-manager" and "Gnome-compiz-manager" into native "Advanced Effect" App
• Compiz-Fusion compatability with Intel i965GM Graphics Controllers
  • XV (Hardware scaler issues) on i965GM (majority of Dell laptops)
    • Solvable problem.
  • Compiz are moving to regular releases
  • Dell are sending the same message to all the Graphics/Network chip vendors
    • Dell will put your component on our board without work Linux driver support
      • Upstream, open-source, just works, maintained.
    • Long running restriction list of peripheral list
• EDD Support
  • BIOS drive ordering for GRUB
    • Was turned off as it was causing a lock on some EDD systems
    • Can be done in userspace in the future using libx86 and do backlisting
  • future dm-raid installer integration
    • Fedora is recognising the IDE raid (SC-line of servers)
    • Should be able to ship this for the servers at least
      • Dell will mail some dm-raid enabled servers to cjwatson
• Eliminate the need to have Suspend/Hibernate quirks in the Factory
• Unified proxy settings (one setting that is consumed by all who need it)
• Support for using the Firefox Plugin Finder Service to work behind proxies
• "Beautify" Suspend-Resume and Hibernate-Resume screens
• "Speed up" Hibernate-Resume process
• Advanced Power Management Tools Support
• Native Firewall Support
• Xen on Desktop
  • Current not "offically" supported, even if it works
  • Looking forward, possibly offical support for Xen, kvm, virtualbox.
    • All can run multiple OS (rather than only Linux-on-Linux).
• Evolution Performance
• TPM (Trusted Computing/DRM) Support
• Firefox/ubufox translation
  • Split between firefox/ubufox/theme packages
  • For German, the Deutsch links go through to English language wiki/forums (not Deutsch ones)

Hardware Support

• 802.11n Support
• ATI Graphics Support
• AMD CPU/Chipset Support
• Finger Print Reader Support
• Webcam Support
• Array Microphone Support
• Flash Memory Support
• Inkjet Printers Support
• WWAN Support
• Broadcom Wireless Support
• TV Tuner Card Support
• Projector Support
• Wide-Screen Flat Panels Support with Laptops
• Intel DM-RAID Support
• Physics Accelerator Card Support
• Blue Ray Support
• Blue Tooth Keyboard and Mice Support
• Bluetooth Desktop Media Card Reader Support
• HDMI Audio Support