Ubuntu 10.04 on the Acer Aspire 1810TZ
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) has gone beta on March 19, 2010, the final release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS is scheduled for April 29, 2010 - time to install Lucid Lynx Beta 1 x86_64 on my Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ-413G32n mini notebook.
The most noticeable change in Lucid Lynx is the redesigned GNOME Desktop. Ubuntu 10.04 comes with many visual changes like the new and controversial discussed 'light' themes 'Ambiance' and 'Radiance', the also controversial discussed placing of the Metacity buttons to the left side of the window and changing the order of these buttons, the monochrome icon set for the GNOME panel and a new default wallpaper.
Also important to mention, the boot process has been improved. HAL has been removed from the boot process, making Ubuntu 10.04 faster to boot. And again visual changes, the boot process got a new splash screen.
Besides the usual updates to the latest versions, noteworthy changes since Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) are the switch of the default search engine in Firefox from Google to Yahoo!, the Nouveau video driver is now the default for nVidia hardware, the built-in integration with social networks using MeMenu/Gwibber, and the launch of the Ubuntu One Music Store and its integration into Rhythmbox.
Installing Ubuntu 10.04
Preparations
Before installing Ubuntu 10.04 on the Acer Aspire 1810TZ enter the BIOS and change the SATA mode from AHCI to IDE.
Booting into Ubuntu 10.04
Boot the Ubuntu 10.04 Live CD.
When the splash screen is displayed, hit a key to enter the boot menu.
Select your language and keyboard, then select 'Install Ubuntu'.
If you do not hit any key when the splash screen is displayed, Ubuntu 10.04 boots into an alternative 'Welcome' dialog where you can choose whether you want to try Ubuntu 10.04 from CD or install Ubuntu 10.04 to your computer.
The Ubuntu Installer
The Ubuntu 10.04 Installer will perform the following steps:
Welcome
Choose the language used for the installation process. This language will also be used as the default language for the final system.
If you booted into the alternative 'Welcome' dialog you can choose between 'Try Ubuntu 10.04' and 'Install Ubuntu 10.04'.
Where are you?
Select your location and time zone.
Keyboard layout
Select a keyboard layout for your keyboard.
Prepare disk space
I use the option 'Specify partitions manually (advanced)' to create the following partition table:
Mount point | Name | Flags | Part Type | FS Type | Size (MB) |
/boot | sda1 | Boot | Primary | ext4 | 100 |
swap | sda2 | Primary | Linux swap | 4200 | |
/ | sda3 | Primary | ext4 | 25000 | |
/home | sda4 | Primary | ext4 | Remaining disk space |
Who are you?
Enter the real name, user name and password of the main user of this computer. Also enter the name of the computer.
Additional users can be added after installation.
Ready to install
Before installing the Ubuntu 10.04 Installer shows a summary of the collected information. To change the settings hit the 'Back' button.
To accept the settings and install Ubuntu 10.04 hit the 'Install' button.
Installation complete
After the installation has finished hit the 'Restart now' button to reboot the computer and use the fresh Ubuntu 10.04 installation.
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)
The new 'Ambiance' themed GNOME desktop.
Less brown, the dominating colors now are purple, orange and dark grey.
The tooltips are matching the slick design of the notification popups.
The monochrome icon set for the GNOME panel:
Nautilus now innately supports dual-pane view.
To switch between single-pane and dual-pane view press the F3 key.
The Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ-413G32n
Even though this is just a 'Beta 1' the installation of Ubuntu 10.04 went fine on the Acer Aspire 1810TZ.
All the hardware components of this mini notebook are supported. The Acer Aspire Timeline 1810TZ-413G32n works out-of-the-box with Ubuntu 10.04.
Component | Model | Driver | Status |
CPU | 2x 1.3GHz Intel Pentium Processor SU4100 ULV |
| |
Chipset | Intel GS45 Express |
| |
CardReader | 5-in-1, SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro/xD |
| |
Ethernet | Attansic AR8131 (10/100/1000 MBit/s) | atl1c |
|
WLAN | Intel WiFi Link 5100 (802.11 a/b/g/Draft-N) | iwlagn |
|
WPAN | Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR |
| |
WWAN | Huawei UMTS/HSPA (12d1:1404) |
| |
Display | 11.6" WXGA (1366x768), TFT with LED backlight |
| |
Graphics | Intel GMA 4500MHD | i915 |
|
WebCam | Acer CrystalEye (Suyin Corp. 064e:a102) | uvcvideo |
|
Sound | Intel ICH9 | snd-hda-intel |
|
Touchpad | Synaptics |
| |
Hibernate/Suspend |
|
