HOWTO: Use the repository on *buntu 11.10

[voria]

• Repository URL: https://launchpad.net/~voria/+archive/ppa
• Instructions:
  • Add the repository to the sources list
    Open a terminal and use the following command:

    Code: Select all

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:voria/ppa

  • Perform a complete system update
    From the terminal, use the following command in order to update all the packages at the latest versions:

    Code: Select all

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

  • Install packages from the repository
    Use your favourite package manager to install the following packages:
    • samsung-tools
      It enables control of devices (bluetooth, webcam, wireless, CPU fan) and the FN keys.
      Please read the NOTES below.
    • samsung-wireless (optional)
      It enables the wireless card, on notebooks shipped with a Realtek card.
    • nvidia-bl-dkms (optional)
      It enables the screen backlight support for notebooks shipped with nvidia video cards.
      After the installation, open the file '/etc/modules' in a text editor and add the line nvidia_bl.
    • samsung-laptop (optional)
      It installs a patched version of the 'samsung-laptop' kernel module, which provides a control interface for samsung-tools.
      Please read the NOTES below.
    • easy-slow-down-manager (optional)
      It installs the 'easy-slow-down-manager' kernel module, which provides a control interface for samsung-tools.
      Please read the NOTES below.
    • samsung-backlight (optional)
      It enables the screen brightness for notebooks that don't have a proper support (mostly with Intel video cards).
      It also disables the samsung-laptop kernel module.
      Please read the NOTES below.
    • phc-intel (optional)
      It installs the 'phc-intel' kernel module, used by samsung-tools for CPU undervolting.
      It only supports a limited range of CPUs, mostly Atom CPUs.
  • Again, please read the NOTES below.
  • Reboot the system to have all changes applied.
  • Have fun!

NOTES:
The new samsung-tools 2.0 has support for 2 different control interfaces: samsung-laptop and easy-slow-down-manager.
The first one is newer and is officially shipped with the newer linux kernels. Eventually, It will superseed easy-slow-down-manager.
Unfortunately, at the moment it lacks support for a lot of Samsung notebook models and it yet suffers of some annoying bugs.
The samsung-laptop package available on the PPA installs a patched version of the kernel module which fixes some of these bugs but, yet, the situation is pretty much the same. If you face problems with this control interface, you can switch to the old 'easy-slow-down-manager' interface.
To do so, install the easy-slow-down-manager and samsung-backlight packages from the PPA. The 'samsung-laptop' kernel module will be disabled.
These 2 packages provide the same functionalities as in the previous Ubuntu versions, so if they worked for you, they will continue to do so.
You can check the control interface currently in use from the command line, with the command "samsung-tools -i", or through the "Samsung Tools Preferences" configuration dialog.

Another thing needs to be pointed out.
I've received a lot of reports about samsung-tools and the problems with the screen brightness control.
Samsung Tools has no control on screen brightness levels, nor on the behaviour of the Fn-Up and Fn-Down hotkeys used to control brightness.
It just controls the screen backlight (on or off, Fn-F5 hotkey), by using the control interfaces described above.
If brightness control does not work for you, then the problem may be in the kernel driver missing support for your notebook model, may be a bug in gnome-power-manager (if you use Gnome), may be a bug in powerdevil (if you use KDE), and so on.
Please file bug reports appropriately.

[voria]

I've just uploaded a new 'samsung-laptop' package on my testing repository:

https://launchpad.net/~voria/+archive/archive/

Changelog:

Code: Select all

samsung-laptop (2.0~ppa1~loms~oneiric~test1) oneiric; urgency=low
   * Code updated from iksaif git repository (2011/12/06):
     https://github.com/iksaif/samsung-laptop-dkms
   * Apply 'rfkill-v4.patch' to correctly detect the old interface
     for wlan/bluetooth control.

Please test it and report your results.

[Givrix]

Hello
I tried installing Oneiric after Natty got completely buggy...
Installing samsung-tools and samsung-laptop, I still could not use the wifi (Broadcom BCM4313 other a N150+)
Then I tried your updated version in the archive ppa in vain.
It appears rfkill sees a hardware switch activated. I tried some suggestion about deleting /dev/rfkill ... nothing.
Fn function work except Wifi and fan control.

Moreover, when i switch it on from windows it is systematicaly switched off when booting ubuntu (recall last state in the bios).

So sad after the backlight flickering seems to be gone, now is worse regression :S
Anyway thanks for your work !

[FabriceV]

I stopped to use Voria's repository since last year. Now 10.10 has got too much problems, so I have tried it again.

On a NC10:
Negative
• No GUI for samsung tools ?
• Touchpad regression. An old bug seems present. The touchpad is over-sensitive vertically compare to horizontally.
Intermediate
• F4 switches screens, but with clone display at low resolution (800x600) while higher and correct resolution is used when each individual screen is selected. I restart my computer with both screens on. Then I switch from clone, both with own resolution, first and second screen. Thus everything seems OK.
• F11 No bubble to indicate that NumLock is on.
• No apparent effect for F12.
Positive
• All other keys seem to work after restart.

So on NC10, 10.10 is plenty of regressions compare to previous versions. Voria's repository vastly improve the situation.

Regards

[FabriceV]

• Touchpad regression. An old bug seems present. The touchpad is over-sensitive vertically compare to horizontally.
Intermediate

Strangely, I do not observe such problem now.
Unfortunately, I sometime have a cursor freeze... I already have this problem while I was using "normal" 10.10, so I doubt the problem pertains to voria's repository. I do not know whether or not I will use Ubuntu taking into account I currently have none answer to this big problem.
Regards

[CaptnDifool]

Samsung RV520

Backlight automaticly chances from max brightness at ac power to less brightness in battery power and back. Before that update it had remain in less brightness, also after waking up from standby.

But again no brightness control manually with nvidia card

Code: Select all

root@phaedra:/etc# modprobe nvidia_bl
FATAL: Error inserting nvidia_bl (/lib/modules/3.0.0-14-generic/updates/dkms/nvidia_bl.ko): No such device

Whats wrong else?

[MoonKid]

I know that the kernel team itself and all the distris have a really complex and slow going code-add politic.

Why are your packages not in the official repositories? Did you tried to add them?

[MoonKid]

Thanks voRia it works.

But I have two questions.

I want to regulate my backlight automaticly. With power cable 100%, with accu 70%, after 5min inactivity on 30%, after 10min 0%. Is this possible?

What is about the touchpanel? The two-finger-scrolling doesn't work. Is there a solution somewhere in your packages?