Fedora 14 on Dell Adamo Desire
My wife is a huge Linux fan. So when her old laptop got too old, she made sure her new laptop would run Linux. In March 2010, we ordered a Dell Adamo Desire (Pearl), and immediately installed Linux on it. The laptop came with these specs:
- Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.4GHz/800MHz FSB/3M L2 Cache)
- 13.4 inch 720p (HD) WLED Display (1366x768) with 1.3 MP web cam
- 2GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 800MHz
- 128GB Solid State Drive
- Intel GS45 Integrated Graphics with 256MB Memory
- Intel 5300 WLAN 802.11n (3x3) Mini Card
- 40 WHr Lithium Polymer Battery
- High Definition Audio 2.0
- Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
- Integrated Gigabit (10/100/1000) Network Card
On November 13 2010, I upgraded this laptop from Fedora 13, to Fedora 14.
Install
Since this is a Linux-only system, we just booted the Fedora 14 Live installer (from USB flash drive, since I prefer that over burning a new install DVD every time.) When you select the drive to install to, you can have the installer just blow away the whole disk and re-install from scratch. That's what we did, even though it was an upgrade. I find it's easier just to backup, re-format, re-instal, and restore.
The install process took about 20 minutes, from start to finish.
Software
Fedora 14 has everything by default that my wife was looking for, except Thunderbird. But you can go to "Add/Remove Programs" to install Thunderbird. It's very simple.
Sound
Sound works fine out of the box.
Graphics
The graphics card is supported by default by Fedora 14. Generally, I've found that the Intel GMA cards are very well supported, thanks to actual involvement by Intel. The driver recognized the display and supported it at full resolution.
Also, the webcam is supported out of the box. But my wife hasn't used it yet.
Network
The wired port works fine. After installing, I plugged the laptop into my wired network at home, and ran the updates. So the wired port is fine.
Wireless networking also works great. My wife was able to see our home network, and get connected.
Bluetooth
We haven't connected any Bluetooth devices to this laptop, but the Bluetooth icon shows up in the top bar. So apparently Fedora 14 recognized the card and loaded support for it.
Summary
My grade: "A"
I would recommend this laptop for anyone who wants to install Linux on it. My only issue is personal preference; I occassionally swipe the touchpad with my palm when I type on it, so the mouse goes everywhere. My wife doesn't have this problem.
