I'm afraid it sounds like most of this stuff is due to lack of ACPI support. This means Xandros didn't enable it in their stock kernel. So, yes, changing distributions may solve your problem. The other option is to recompile your kernel with ACPI support enabled. I have no idea whether Xandros gives you kernel sources or assumes their users won't want them, but you can get the source at kernel.org, and there are many kernel compiling guides out there, including on the LQ wiki and fora.
It sounds like a hassle, I know, but you're going to have to do it one day probably
Enjoy
-Edd
EDIT: run `ls /proc/acpi` and see if that gives you anything to check acpi support quickly. If it turns out you do have acpi enabled, it may be that it is the laptop that doesn't support acpi (older models don't) and you will have to disable that and enable APM support instead. Again, by recompiling your kernel.