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HP TouchSmart TX2-series
Introduction
Linux runs wonderfully well on HP tx2-nnnnxx (aka tx2z) laptops at this point. Upon initial release many tweaks and changes were needed to get Linux working properly on these machines, but at this point the tx2z is well supported by mainstream distros.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the HP TouchSmart TX2-series. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the HP TouchSmart TX2-1200 series page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the HP TouchSmart TX2-1200 series specifications page.
| Name | HP TouchSmart TX2-1200 series |
| Processor | AMD Turion™ X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor RM-77 2.30 GHz |
| Screen | 12.1” WXGA Tablet |
| RAM | Up to 4GB |
| HDD | up to 500GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet bcm4322 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Webcam | Suyin |
| Fingerprint reader | aes1610 |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Y | Frequency scaling OK |
| Screen | Y | |
| HDD | Y | |
| Optical Drive | Y | |
| Graphics | Y | ATI proprietary driver DO NOT WORK ANY MORE with latest Xorg. Use the opensource RADEON driver. |
| Sound | Y | needs to change model parameter in some older versions of distrobutions, not needed any longer |
| Ethernet | Y | |
| Wireless | Y | wl proprietary driver |
| USB | Y | |
| Bluetooth | Y | tested with headset, smartphone, and GPS |
| Card Reader | Y | I tested SD cards only |
| ExpressCard Slot | Works | |
| Webcam | Y | No work needed |
| Fingerprint reader | Y | Now works out of the box (on OpenSUSE 12.3) |
| Touchscreen | Y | Touch is out of the box at this point, some tweaking may be required for multi-touch, Vista or Win7 firmware matters. See http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Howto_install_OpenSuSE_on_HP_tx2-xxxx_laptops and http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1252492 |
| Remote control | Y | Irda. Key events could be re-mapped to fit your needs |
Notes
When this was initially written (10/2009) installation was still a bit tricky to get full touchscreen support, and therefore not really accessible to newbies. Things have evolved since then, and at the time of this revision (10/2012) the system requires only minor tweaking to accomplish button mapping, screen rotation, and enhancing multi-touch.
Summary
This is a solid machine for Linux. When done, the screen react as a sensitive (zero pression) device, and therefore is very comfortable to use even when not in tablet mode. Moving “gelatine” OpenGL windows just by moving a finger on the screen is not only amazing, but very comfortable.
Stylus pressure sensitivity is perfectly exploited in the Gimp, and enable on-screen “callygraphy” and painting, but also a more comfortable use of technical and even musical compositing softwares.
Known issues :
- In GNOME3 OSK works with screen-saver lock screen, but will not work with shell steals focus for password dialogs.
- In GNOME3, OnBoard/Cell Writer do not work with the search function from the overview menu, must invoke built-in OSK to inteact with that field.
- In Cinnamon, OSKs do not work with search field in menu.
Defaults :
- fan noise,
- poor autonomy on batteries (But all the Linux power-management features helps a bit to do better than windows do - see below).
- fingerprints on the screen ! 
Recommended add-on software :
Magick Rotation - uses hp_wmi to accomplish screen rotation and toggle touch for extended inking, also runs commands on rotation - https://launchpad.net/magick-rotation (if using GNOME and you want to enable/disable OSK on roatate try: gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.a11y.applications screen-keyboard-enabled true/false)
* some distros will require patching to correct an issue with rotation. If you rotate and mouse/touch/stylus don't correspond to the screen try: https://answers.launchpad.net/magick-rotation/+faq/1603 *
EasyStroke - allows custom touch gestures, adds missing functionality present in Windows that isn't present by default in Linux. Config can be moved from one machine to another if you have multiple TabletPCs and want to set up gestures once - http://sourceforge.net/projects/easystroke/
xournal - basically the Linux version of MS Journal, great for taking notes and annotating PDFs, again Journal is present in Windows TabletPCs and very useful, this brings Linux on-par - http://xournal.sourceforge.net/
Jupiter - power management applet, between advances in kernel and this appliction the tx2z will see much better battery life than in years past - http://www.jupiterapplet.org/
Credits
Written by Daniel FAIVRE, 2009-10-23.
Revised by robbyb413, 2012-10-02.
Discussion