I generally keep my development projects under a common directory like ~/dev/ or ~/projects/. Here is a simple bash shell script function which I use to quickly jump into and between projects on the command line. It includes auto completion, which is a pretty important part of its usefulness. You can put in your ~/.bashrc file and adapt the PROJECTS_PATH variable to suit your own needs.
PROJECTS_PATH=~/dev
pcd() {
if [ "$1" = .. ]; then
local reporoot=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)
[ -d "$reporoot" ] && cd "$reporoot" || cd ..
else
cd "$PROJECTS_PATH"
[ -d "$1" ] && cd "$1"
[ -d "$2" ] && cd "$2"
fi
}
_pcdcomp() {
local IFS=$'\n'
if [ "$COMP_CWORD" -eq 1 ]; then
COMPREPLY=($(cd "$PROJECTS_PATH" && compgen -d "${COMP_WORDS[1]}"))
elif [ "$COMP_CWORD" -eq 2 ]; then
COMPREPLY=($(cd "$PROJECTS_PATH"/"${COMP_WORDS[1]}" 2>/dev/null && compgen -d "${COMP_WORDS[2]}"))
else
COMPREPLY=()
fi
}
complete -o filenames -F _pcdcomp pcd
After loading the code, type pcd and hit TAB to see completion of all sub directories. Hit ENTER to jump to a project. It will also complete one level into a single project as second argument. Lastly pcd .. will jump up to the project root directory, if inside a git repository.
Sometimes I just want to quickly find an installed package and show its version. Maybe I don’t even care if it’s a deb, snap or rpm package. Maybe I’d just like know if it is installed at all. And I’d like to search for it using words.
Here is a shell function qi (query installed) that can be added to ~/.bashrc or similar, which will list all installed deb, snap and/or rpm packages with version in a friendly format. You can easily narrow down the results by supplying words to filter. It mostly uses awk(1) to accomplish the task.
Update 17.12.2022: this version works seamlessly across Redhat and Debian based distros (also those not using snap).
The function consists of two main parts:
A subshell which lists all installed packages in a particular format. It tests for available package managers and queries with those that are available. Its output stream is piped directly to an awk program.
The awk program which does the filtering (highlighted in dark blue).
Use multiple words to narrow down, and the ordering does not matter. All supplied words must be substrings of the package name and version for a match to occur.
It should be a simple matter to add support for other package formats. Just add to the commands which supplies the package lists in the first sub shell, keeping in mind the common output format. Then possibly add prefix patterns for the awk program to recognize and match on lines from other package managers.
This is a laptop with a slightly boring, but professional and discrete design, which I like. It’s a sturdy workhorse and has a quality feel to it – typical business segment. Overall Ubuntu Linux works great and this is probably as good as it gets regarding out of the box Linux compatibility, unless going for specialized commercial Linux offerings like a System76.
There are some issues with TrackPoint smoothness relating to kernel input drivers, and you may experience issues with the keyboard.
Read on for details.
What works fine
Installation alongside side Windows 10 Pro ✓
For dual boot installation, I freed up around 300 GB of storage space for Ubuntu using Windows disk administration. Installation of Ubuntu 20.04 on new partition went without issues. Grub becomes primary boot loader with Windows as menu option.
Graphics and screen ✓
Both Wayland and Xorg sessions work fine and perform well. Brightness controls are functional and screen is surprisingly bright and crisp.
Power management and cooling ✓
The CPU cores are automatically clocked between 1,2GHz and 3,5GHz, depending on load. The fan rarely makes any noise at all on normal light weight usage, and it is subtle even when it needs to run faster.
The battery is a 51Wh SMP, and charge thresholds can be controlled at runtime. I typically set mine to stop charging at 85% when at home, to increase battery lifespan. You can control this by writing percentages to the files:
The laptop has a USB-C port for charging, and when using the accompanying 65W A/C power supply, charging is fast. It will also accept charge from other power supplies, like common mobile quick chargers, but the BIOS may issue a warning on boot if the charger is too weak.
Update 2023-01-14: you can check out the following script for a handy tool that shows Thinkpad battery information on the command line. It also displays the charge stop and start thresholds.
Suspend to RAM ✓
Suspend to RAM and resume works fine. There are some ACPI errors appearing in the kernel log upon resume:
ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [\_SB.PC00.RP09.PEGP.DDNT], AE_NOT_FOUND (20210730/psargs-330)
[...]
ACPI Error: Aborting method \_SB.PC00.LPCB.EC.SEN4._TMP due to previous error (AE_NOT_FOUND) (20210730/psparse-529)
I haven’t look into these, probably buggy firmware code. It does not seem to cause any real problems.
The HDA audio chip identifies as Realtek ALC257. I have not noticed any issues and it works well. The laptop speakers are a bit disappointing and sound rather weak, but I rarely rely on them anyway.
Wireless networking ✓
The wifi chip is detected as Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz, REV=0x354 by the iwlwifi driver. No issues experienced, wireless networking is solid.
Also note that there is no RJ45 ethernet port on this laptop model.
Bluetooth ✓
Bluetooth is usually a bit buggy on Linux, and it can be a hit and miss experience, depending on the devices your are trying to connect. For the Thinkpad T14, it uses an Intel Bluetooth chip connected to the USB bus.
I’ve tested connectivity with a pair of Bose QC35 headsets and a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone, both work.
Special keys ✓
Most Fn-special keys work fine: audio controls, mic mute, brightness, flight mode. There are some that generate no key events in Xorg: Fn+F9 through F11. These are labeled with symbols for chat, answer call and hangup call.
Firmware upgrades ✓
The Thinkpad firmware can be automatically updated using the built-in fwupdmgr application. Which is a great improvement from earlier days of having to flash updates from thumb drives or being forced to use Windows.
Fingerprint reader ✓
The fingerprint reader works out of the box. You can enroll your prints in the standard Ubuntu settings app.
Webcam ✓
It works fine, but is only a 720p camera.
Problems 💀
Poor keyboard quality control
I noticed the left trackpad mouse button had erratic click detection – some clicks were missed. I primarily use the TrackPoint and rely on the physical mouse buttons beneath the space bar. Having premium on-site support, I decided to call for assistance, suspecting hardware malfunction. Lenovo sent a service technician a few days later, and the entire keyboard was replaced, at no additional cost. The new keyboard is fine.
Speaking of keyboard, the keys are a bit too hesitant and mushy for my taste. But solid.
TrackPoint cursor movement
TrackPoint cap
The [Elan] TrackPoint cursor movement is slightly rough and jittery (using Xorg), resulting in reduced precision. It is almost like not enough input events are generated per time during movement. Also, the following message is printed in the kernel log:
psmouse serio1: synaptics: Your touchpad (PNP: LEN2072 PNP0f13) says it can support a different bus.
If i2c-hid and hid-rmi are not used, you might want to try setting psmouse.synaptics_intertouch to 1 and report this to linux-input@vger.kernel.org.
I have experimented with the suggested psmouse module setting, and it does indeed result in a smoother cursor. However, it also causes TrackPoint to randomly stop working, which is a deal breaker. I have not found a solution to this problem yet, but trust it will improve with future kernels.
Swapped Ctrl and Fn-keys
Thinkpads come with physically swapped left control and Fn-key compared to most keyboards. So you have this layout on the left bottom row:
[Fn] [Ctrl] [Win] [Alt] [ Space ] …
Being an Emacs user, this can be uncomfortable, since the distance between the control key and frequently used letter combinations is too short. Not to mention having to mentally re-calibrate your typing when switching between the Thinkpad and other keyboards. Fortunately the BIOS allows you to software swap the function of these keys, so the Fn-key becomes the left control. But the Fn-key is physically smaller and provides a poorer “left control experience”.
Show Thinkpad battery info on the command line
You can use the following shell script to check your battery vitals from the command line. Copy-paste the code into a file tpbinfo, save it somewhere in your PATH and make it executable with: chmod +x tpbinfo
