Panasonic CF-54 with ubuntu 16.04

Did some upgrades to 16.04. Found out that LTE module (1199:9041 Sierra Wireless, Inc.) in CF54 needs to be reconfigured.

Here's how:

Add /etc/modprobe.d/ncm.conf with following (and reboot):

options cdc_ncm prefer_mbim=N


This makes network manager able to see and configure your LTE.

Toughpad FZ-G1 with Linux

Got my hands on this yesterday. Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 with iKey FZ-G1 Jumpseat Keyboard attached. Like a tradition, I never even saw windows booting on this machine, because I installed Fedora 23 in two minutes to SSD.

First time for years, I felt like carrying some serious set of hardware, mainly due the weight of the combination. 10.1" screen gave me an 1980x1200 resolution which is pretty small print. After tweaking settings of GNOME3 to suit better, this device turned pretty awesome.

Toughpad itself is IP65 but keyboard is not specified to any IP ratings. Keyboard is whole rubber and I bet it stands some elements, but without any official IP rating.

We are working on a project where we utilize FZ-G1 and I probably will be able to share some details of it later on. 

Panasonic recommends Linux

I've been enjoying my CF-54 with Fedora 23 lately and this battery life amazes me every time. I can run this almost full day easily and carrying plain thing without power supply make life easier anyhow.

I also acquired second HD cradle while back, making my upgrade routines easier. This whole HD cradle was actually the thing which drove me to Fedora 23 testing, because I could leave my 'operative' setup on self intact while trying out something new. 

After all, I've been really satisfied for this setup. Running Linux on Panasonic Toughbook CF-54 is so far best experience and our company does this on multiple users with toughbooks with no issues.

Sticker on this one should say "Panasonic recommends Linux".

Extra battery for CF-54

Been using my CF-54 for a couple of months now and it's one of the best Linux enabled laptops I've ever used. I've been doing some travels lately and there are few features for this Laptop which I'd like to share.

First, I've been using extra battery on expansion bay.

It adds 32 Wh capacity to my standard inbuilt battery (41 Wh). So my CF-54 is now equipped with 73 Wh battery capacity. This gives me room to use this laptop for a full day just on batteries. I even survived a days with standard 41 Wh battery and this extra gives me almost double more.

Another nice feature which makes this thing really unique is removable HD with case. When ever I am forced to leave my laptop in Hotel room or other unmonitored location, I am able to take HD with me. Leave no valuables behind they say.

So, best Linux laptop so far. 

Ultimate Linux laptop (CF-54)

Today I got my hands on to new Panasonic CF-54. Installed Ubuntu 15.04 (64 bit) to it and found out that this is ultimate Laptop for Linux user! I never booted Windows on it and I suggest you to do same, if you have this gear.

Few points which will get this into class A laptop with Linux;

• Really rugged feel, but measures and weight are well in control
• Handle. This alone is the thing after you have been able to test one out. 
• 1920 x 1080 FullHD display, which is matte and has touchscreen
• Inbuilt 4G which works under Linux (see earlier post about Toughpad)
• Bluetooth, touchscreen, sound, wifi - works
• 4G with Sierra 7305 (1199:9041) 
• Exact model number is CF-54B3961MN

I will update this post after more experiences and details, but if you're after solid professional laptop for Linux use - look no further.

Updates

I've been using my Toughbook CF-54 now for a while as my main laptop and I cannot complain about anything while running Ubuntu 15.04 (AMD64). Everything just works so well that I am still amazed. I think Panasonic should advertise them as Linux able supplier, because it's starting to be good differentiation from other vendors, especially after Windows 10 failed to impress peoples.

I've been running like tenths of laptops as my main gear during last few years and equal to finding perfect laptop, I've been experimenting perfect carry on bag with various items. Just before my CF-54, arrived my Fjällräven Greenland briefcase and just last week I found out that CF-54 fits perfectly inside laptop pocket of this briefcase. It fits like clove in there, even it surely looks like that CF-54 is too big for the case, but no. It's perfect. I try to include some images in future. But if you're after ultimate Linux laptop and discreet carry on solution, try these two. They are amazing. Both of them.



 

Ubuntu Mate 15.04 to Toughpad

Based on my experiences on CF-AX2, I decided also reinstall Toughpad FZ-M1 with Mate version. And yes, it's beautiful and working. I did some font size tweaking to 16 px fonts and 7" screen serves my eyes pretty ok.

 

And same thing applies, Mate runs much more responsive even on this Celeron based hardware.

 

Panasonic CF-AX2 with Ubuntu-Mate 15.04

After installing Ubuntu 15.04 to Toughbook CF-AX2, I noticed quite heavy CPU and graphics adapter usage due compiz. I decided to give this little fellow an ease by installing Ubuntu Mate 15.04 for it. And how surprised I was. I ran cooler and lot more responsive than with Compiz equipped Ubuntu.

One thing was missing, with two finger scroll on touchpad - I could not find an option to invert scrolling direction to "natural scrolling". DConf editor trick described in various forum posts did not affect, but founding this solved problem:

1. Open file (with sudo) for editing:

/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-synaptics.conf

2. Add these lines to first "InputClass" section in

synclient VertScrollDelta=-111 
synclient HorizScrollDelta=-111

And it works.