Ubuntu and Thinkpad T60
After having used Xubuntu on my laptop for six or seven months it was finally time for a reinstall. Xubuntu was still running fine, but after unsuccessfully tweaking a couple of programs too many errors where starting to pop up. When I installed everything the first time I wasn’t really sure how I was going to use it since this was also my first laptop. Imagining myself sitting at various cafes, being urban and working, I decided to install and configure Xubuntu to maximize battery life at the expense of some functionality. It turns out that I usually have a power outlet around when I use the computer, even when I’m siting at a cafe having my hourly coffee, so there was no need to go for such a simplistic setup.
This time around I decided to install the default Ubuntu to make configuration and the tweaking take a little bit less time. I always spend a lot of time tweaking a newly installed OS to fill my needs, but with a default install I could go for the default applications to begin with at least. If I later on learn that some other option fits me better I can always change.
Installing Ubuntu was as easy this time as it was the first time around when I installed Xubuntu. This was a real pleasure after having spent an evening not long ago cursing a computer as it tried to install Windows XP on a computer with only S-ATA drives. Once Ubuntu booted up after the install was done everything seemed to work right out of the box. The Bluetooth worked, the Wireless worked, setting up a printer turned out be just a couple of next presses on the install wizard. Everything seemed to be working exceptionally well. After some more hunting around it turned out that the only thing that needed extra tweaking to get going was the fingerprint reader.
As I read about to make it work on the Ubuntu forums I was redirected to the Ubuntu Wikis’ Thinkfinger pages. Following the instructions there was all that was needed for me to get it going.
After having gotten the fingerprint reader working the only problem I know have is that I need to click menu options that require root login twice. I managed to figure out that this is due to gksudo not working properly with ThinkFinger yet. Hopefully they’ll fix it soon. Otherwise it is working exceptionally well, everything I’m asked for my login password I can swipe my finger over the reader instead. It looks very fancy when I manage to get it on the first swipe, and not so fancy when I end up having to try a couple of times to get it to register.- but with a little more practice I can probably master the Art of ThinkFingering!