Let me start with some background...I LOVE LOVE LOVE Linux...I tried so many different distros, it's ridiculous. My favorites so far have been Pentoo(couldn't figure out how to install it though), Mandriva and OpenSUSE. The reason I didn't like other distros is because I always had to sacrafice something cause something wouldn't work, such as sound, or my Fn keys on my laptop, or being able to dim the display (conserve battery because I am a student)

OpenSUSE was the first distro to have EVERYTHING work out of the box,however, I can NOT figure out this build/make/make install garbage, I tried to install aircrack-ng and it gave me a bunch of crap about gcc, then openssl, then something else, and I really like Mandriva (and understand the urpmi better than zypper anyway), however, my ONLY complaint is when I dim the display using the Fn keys (I never tried with the brightness applet, although I'll probably have the same issue) after I start using the computer again (or after a couple seconds...I haven't found a pattern yet so it could be random) the screen will brighten back up...

Now, the weird part is if I hover over the battery icon, it might say I have 45 minutes left of battery, I'll dim the display, the display will dim then brighten, and the battery will say I have 1 hour 10 minutes left on battery (so it's calculating as if it did dim...)


I guess it's not that big of a deal, but, I'd love for this to work because, like I said, I am a student and I don't always have the opportunities to have my computer plugged in, so maximum battery life would be great...


My laptop is an Asus K60, I am still a n00b, so I do not know what other info you may need...



Thank You!!

I do not use a Laptop here, but I think I can still be of help. I am using KDE-4.5.0 on Mandriva 2010.1 (Spring), so your installation may differ slightly from mine.

I will start by assuming (I know what that makes of you and me ) that you are using KDE (K Desktop Environment) as your Graphical user Interface.

Open the Configure your desktop applet (Tools > System Tools > Configure your desktop in the menu system).

If you are using an earlier version of KDE, you may need to choose the Advanced tab.

On newer releases, look in the Hardware section.

Open the Power Management applet.

In the initial screen, you can choose which profile to use when the computer is plugged in, and which to use when it is running on battery, when the battery is at a low level, and when it is at warning level. In the Navigation pane (left), choose Edit Profiles where you can configure how each profile behaves.

HTH,

well i thank you for being brave enough to attempt to answer...honestly though, i forgot about posting this thread because last time i looked it had 40+ views and nobody had replied...


I forgot to come back though but I discovered that it must've been a power management issue (however, i was using GNOME but recently switched to KDE) anyway...i found out that the issue only happened when it was plugged in and after messing with some settings i got it fixed, but it was most important when it was not plugged in..when it is plugged in the brightness is all the way up anyway....

thanks anyway though


(sorry if this is incoherent sounding hahahaha, i am in a rush and just flying through this before i forget again...)