Ken Kinder's questions

I'm on 19.10 (Eoan Ermine). Recently, I let apt upgrade my kernel from 5.3.0-18-generic to 5.3.0-26-generic.

5.3.0-18-generic continues to work fine in both recovery and regular boot modes. However, 5.3.0-18-generic fails to recover properly from suspend; the system is unresponsive even though the display manager is visible, the keyboard is unresponsive.

If I attempt to boot, however, into 5.3.0-26 from any state, I get this message (only visible using recovery mode):

5.3.0-18 continues to boot fine using either regular or recovery boot modes.

I do see the line about the syntax error from the suspend file, but I'm inclined to assume that's unrelated to the more serious kernel panic.

Here's lshw:

    description: Notebook
    product: 20HRCTO1WW (LENOVO_MT_20HR_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th)
    vendor: LENOVO
    version: ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th
    serial: PF0ZXXWS
    width: 64 bits
    capabilities: smbios-3.0.0 dmi-3.0.0 smp vsyscall32
    configuration: administrator_password=disabled chassis=notebook family=ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th power-on_password=disabled sku=LENOVO_MT_20HR_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th uuid=4CECD9FC-4E2A-B211-A85C-BED5C2304DEA
  *-core
       description: Motherboard
       product: 20HRCTO1WW
       vendor: LENOVO
       physical id: 0
       version: Not Defined
       serial: L3HF7B600XZ
       slot: Not Available
     *-memory
          description: System Memory
          physical id: 3
          slot: System board or motherboard
          size: 16GiB
        *-bank:0
             description: Row of chips LPDDR3 Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered) 1867 MHz (0.5 ns)
             product: K4EBE304EB-EGCF
             vendor: Samsung
             physical id: 0
             serial: 00000000
             slot: ChannelA-DIMM0
             size: 8GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 1867MHz (0.5ns)
        *-bank:1
             description: Row of chips LPDDR3 Synchronous Unbuffered (Unregistered) 1867 MHz (0.5 ns)
             product: K4EBE304EB-EGCF
             vendor: Samsung
             physical id: 1
             serial: 00000000
             slot: ChannelB-DIMM0
             size: 8GiB
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 1867MHz (0.5ns)
     *-cache:0
          description: L1 cache
          physical id: 7
          slot: L1 Cache
          size: 128KiB
          capacity: 128KiB
          capabilities: synchronous internal write-back unified
          configuration: level=1
     *-cache:1
          description: L2 cache
          physical id: 8
          slot: L2 Cache
          size: 512KiB
          capacity: 512KiB
          capabilities: synchronous internal write-back unified
          configuration: level=2
     *-cache:2
          description: L3 cache
          physical id: 9
          slot: L3 Cache
          size: 4MiB
          capacity: 4MiB
          capabilities: synchronous internal write-back unified
          configuration: level=3
     *-cpu
          description: CPU
          product: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7600U CPU @ 2.80GHz
          vendor: Intel Corp.
          physical id: a
          bus info: cpu@0
          version: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7600U CPU @ 2.80GHz
          serial: None
          slot: U3E1
          size: 2502MHz
          capacity: 3900MHz
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 100MHz
          capabilities: lm fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp x86-64 constant_tsc art arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm 3dnowprefetch cpuid_fault epb invpcid_single pti ssbd ibrs ibpb stibp tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid ept_ad fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 hle avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid rtm mpx rdseed adx smap clflushopt intel_pt xsaveopt xsavec xgetbv1 xsaves dtherm ida arat pln pts hwp hwp_notify hwp_act_window hwp_epp md_clear flush_l1d cpufreq
          configuration: cores=2 enabledcores=2 threads=4
     *-firmware
          description: BIOS
          vendor: LENOVO
          physical id: b
          version: N1MET59W (1.44 )
          date: 11/25/2019
          size: 128KiB
          capacity: 16MiB
          capabilities: pci pnp upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect edd int13floppy720 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer int10video acpi usb biosbootspecification uefi
     *-pci
          description: Host bridge
          product: Xeon E3-1200 v6/7th Gen Core Processor Host Bridge/DRAM Registers
          vendor: Intel Corporation
          physical id: 100
          bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
          version: 02
          width: 32 bits
          clock: 33MHz
          configuration: driver=skl_uncore
          resources: irq:0
        *-display
             description: VGA compatible controller
             product: HD Graphics 620
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
             version: 02
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pciexpress msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
             configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
             resources: irq:138 memory:eb000000-ebffffff memory:60000000-6fffffff ioport:e000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff
        *-generic:0 UNCLAIMED
             description: System peripheral
             product: Xeon E3-1200 v5/v6 / E3-1500 v5 / 6th/7th Gen Core Processor Gaussian Mixture Model
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 8
             bus info: pci@0000:00:08.0
             version: 00
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: msi pm cap_list
             configuration: latency=0
             resources: memory:ec348000-ec348fff
        *-usb
             description: USB controller
             product: Sunrise Point-LP USB 3.0 xHCI Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 14
             bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0
             version: 21
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi xhci bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
             resources: irq:126 memory:ec320000-ec32ffff
           *-usbhost:0
                product: xHCI Host Controller
                vendor: Linux 5.3.0-18-generic xhci-hcd
                physical id: 0
                bus info: usb@1
                logical name: usb1
                version: 5.03
                capabilities: usb-2.00
                configuration: driver=hub slots=12 speed=480Mbit/s
              *-usb:0
                   description: Keyboard
                   product: MK730
                   vendor: Cooler Master Technology Inc.
                   physical id: 2
                   bus info: usb@1:2
                   version: 0.10
                   capabilities: usb-2.00
                   configuration: driver=usbhid maxpower=100mA speed=12Mbit/s
              *-usb:1
                   description: Bluetooth wireless interface
                   vendor: Intel Corp.
                   physical id: 7
                   bus info: usb@1:7
                   version: 0.10
                   capabilities: bluetooth usb-2.00
                   configuration: driver=btusb maxpower=100mA speed=12Mbit/s
              *-usb:2
                   description: Video
                   product: Integrated Camera
                   vendor: Chicony Electronics Co.,Ltd.
                   physical id: 8
                   bus info: usb@1:8
                   version: 0.06
                   capabilities: usb-2.00
                   configuration: driver=uvcvideo maxpower=500mA speed=480Mbit/s
              *-usb:3 UNCLAIMED
                   description: Generic USB device
                   vendor: Validity Sensors, Inc.
                   physical id: 9
                   bus info: usb@1:9
                   version: 1.64
                   serial: 1fb9808954ea
                   capabilities: usb-2.00
                   configuration: maxpower=100mA speed=12Mbit/s
           *-usbhost:1
                product: xHCI Host Controller
                vendor: Linux 5.3.0-18-generic xhci-hcd
                physical id: 1
                bus info: usb@2
                logical name: usb2
                version: 5.03
                capabilities: usb-3.00
                configuration: driver=hub slots=6 speed=5000Mbit/s
        *-generic:1
             description: Signal processing controller
             product: Sunrise Point-LP Thermal subsystem
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 14.2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:14.2
             version: 21
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi cap_list
             configuration: driver=intel_pch_thermal latency=0
             resources: irq:18 memory:ec349000-ec349fff
        *-communication
             description: Communication controller
             product: Sunrise Point-LP CSME HECI #1
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 16
             bus info: pci@0000:00:16.0
             version: 21
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=mei_me latency=0
             resources: irq:134 memory:ec34a000-ec34afff
        *-pci:0
             description: PCI bridge
             product: Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #1
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1c
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0
             version: f1
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:122 memory:ec200000-ec2fffff
           *-generic
                description: Unassigned class
                product: RTS525A PCI Express Card Reader
                vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
                version: 01
                width: 32 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list
                configuration: driver=rtsx_pci latency=0
                resources: irq:127 memory:ec200000-ec200fff
        *-pci:1
             description: PCI bridge
             product: Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #3
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1c.2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.2
             version: f1
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:123 memory:ec100000-ec1fffff
           *-network DISABLED
                description: Wireless interface
                product: Wireless 8265 / 8275
                vendor: Intel Corporation
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:04:00.0
                logical name: wlp4s0
                version: 88
                serial: b0:35:9f:c3:5e:0b
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
                configuration: broadcast=yes driver=iwlwifi driverversion=5.3.0-18-generic firmware=36.77d01142.0 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
                resources: irq:135 memory:ec100000-ec101fff
        *-pci:2
             description: PCI bridge
             product: Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #5
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1c.4
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.4
             version: f1
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:124 memory:ec000000-ec0fffff
           *-storage
                description: Non-Volatile memory controller
                product: NVMe SSD Controller SM961/PM961
                vendor: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:05:00.0
                version: 00
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: storage pm msi pciexpress msix nvm_express bus_master cap_list
                configuration: driver=nvme latency=0
                resources: irq:16 memory:ec000000-ec003fff
        *-pci:3
             description: PCI bridge
             product: Sunrise Point-LP PCI Express Root Port #9
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1d
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1d.0
             version: f1
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:125 ioport:2000(size=4096) memory:bc000000-ea0fffff ioport:70000000(size=1241513984)
        *-isa
             description: ISA bridge
             product: Sunrise Point LPC Controller/eSPI Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
             version: 21
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: isa bus_master
             configuration: latency=0
        *-memory UNCLAIMED
             description: Memory controller
             product: Sunrise Point-LP PMC
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.2
             version: 21
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz (30.3ns)
             configuration: latency=0
             resources: memory:ec344000-ec347fff
        *-multimedia
             description: Audio device
             product: Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.3
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3
             version: 21
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=snd_hda_intel latency=64
             resources: irq:143 memory:ec340000-ec343fff memory:ec330000-ec33ffff
        *-serial
             description: SMBus
             product: Sunrise Point-LP SMBus
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.4
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.4
             version: 21
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             configuration: driver=i801_smbus latency=0
             resources: irq:16 memory:ec34b000-ec34b0ff ioport:efa0(size=32)
        *-network
             description: Ethernet interface
             product: Ethernet Connection (4) I219-LM
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.6
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.6
             logical name: enp0s31f6
             version: 21
             serial: 54:e1:ad:c6:8b:61
             size: 100Mbit/s
             capacity: 1Gbit/s
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
             configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=e1000e driverversion=3.2.6-k duplex=full firmware=0.1-4 ip=192.168.100.13 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=100Mbit/s
             resources: irq:128 memory:ec300000-ec31ffff
     *-pnp00:00
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 0
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:01
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 1
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:02
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 2
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:03
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 4
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:04
          product: PnP device PNP0b00
          physical id: 5
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=rtc_cmos
     *-pnp00:05
          product: PnP device INT3f0d
          physical id: 6
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:06
          product: PnP device LEN0071
          physical id: c
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=i8042 kbd
     *-pnp00:07
          product: PnP device LEN0072
          physical id: d
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=i8042 aux
     *-pnp00:08
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: e
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:09
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: f
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:0a
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 10
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:0b
          product: PnP device PNP0c01
          physical id: 11
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
  *-battery
       product: 01AV430
       vendor: SMP
       physical id: 1
       slot: Front
       capacity: 57020mWh
       configuration: voltage=11.5V

Thoughts?

If I take a clean install of Ubuntu 17.10, install a package via snap, and change my shell to fish, after logging in again the package is missing from gnome-shell's menu and from my favorites list.

Weirdly, this also only happens when using Wayland.

What could cause this issue? I can confirm my shell works normally and the path is normal. I can also confirm these applications run fine via snap run or their command line versions, but it's as if the *.desktop files are missing.

I have a Thinkpad T520 with Nvidia Optimus. For my own sanity, I've set it (in the BIOS) to use 100% discrete graphics, so the Intel graphics are never used. There are 3 displays: The laptop's built in LCD, plus two DVI connections via a port replicator.

The problem is, when I use either the built-in monitor configuration tools, or nvidia-settings to configure my display, I'm not able to get all 3 displays to show up. Nvida-settings specifically gives me this message:

MetaMode 1 of Screen 0 has more than 2 active display devices.

I'm not sure what that means. This is with an Nvidia GF119M [Quadro NVS 4200M] (rev a1), per lspci:

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF119M [Quadro NVS 4200M] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
        Subsystem: Lenovo Device 21cf
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
        Memory at f2000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
        Memory at e0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
        Memory at f0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=32M]
        I/O ports at 6000 [size=128]
        [virtual] Expansion ROM at f3080000 [disabled] [size=512K]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: nvidia

EDIT: Output of xrandr:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3840 x 1080, maximum 16384 x 16384
VGA-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
LVDS-0 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
   1920x1080      60.0 +   50.0  
DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-1 connected 1920x1080+1920+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 520mm x 290mm
   1920x1080      60.0*+
   1680x1050      60.0  
   1600x1200      60.0  
   1440x900       59.9  
   1400x1050      60.0  
   1280x1024      75.0     60.0  
   1280x960       60.0  
   1152x864       75.0  
   1024x768       75.0     70.1     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     72.2     60.3     56.2  
   640x480        75.0     72.8     59.9  
DP-2 connected 1920x1080+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 521mm x 293mm
   1920x1080      60.0*+
   1680x1050      60.0  
   1440x900       59.9  
   1280x1024      75.0     60.0  
   1280x960       60.0  
   1280x800       59.8  
   1280x720       60.0  
   1152x864       75.0  
   1024x768       75.0     70.1     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     72.2     60.3     56.2  
   640x480        75.0     59.9  
DP-3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-4 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP-5 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

Another edit. This is the result of trying to use xrandr (via arandr):

$ xrandr --output VGA-0 --off --output LVDS-0 --mode 1920x1080 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal --output DP-5 --off --output DP-4 --off --output DP-3 --off --output DP-2 --mode 1920x1080 --pos 1920x0 --rotate normal --output DP-1 --mode 1920x1080 --pos 3840x0 --rotate normal --output DP-0 --off
xrandr: cannot find crtc for output LVDS-0

I'm noticing the following problems:

• When I click on Desktop Search -> Basic Settings -> Details, I get "File indexing service is not running" and the Indexed files field reals "Calculating..." but never actually produces a number.
• When using krunner, home run, etc, if I type a filename on my computer, it does not show up.

(EDIT) When I try to index something on the command line, this happens:

$ touch foobar
$ nepomukindexer foobar 
nepomukindexer(9660)/nepomuk (strigi service): SimpleIndexError:  "No such object path '/datamanagement'"                            
nepomukindexer(9660)/nepomuk (strigi service): "No such object path '/datamanagement'"                                               
No such object path '/datamanagement'

Nepomuk, Semantic Desktop, File Indexer, and Email Indexer are all enabled under Basic Settings. This is under Kubuntu 13.04, though it was also an issue under 12.10 with the KDE 4.10 PPA.

It appears that Nepomuk simply isn't indexing files and isn't generally working, but I'm not sure where to look for log files.

Here's a literal screenshot:

See "Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempting to kill init!"

Again, this isn't a boot problem; it happens while I'm using the PC, or I believe sometimes overnight. I've done a memory test and confirmed my memory is fine, so I'm wondering what to try next. Should I try a different kernel?

This is on a Lenovo T520. I can't think of any recent hardware changes that could be related.

I've had many a Kubuntu install, but across all of them, I've had this problem. When KDE crashes, I get the "Crash Reporting Assistant" dialog that wants me to install debug symbols to get a full traceback. Invariably, and this has been the case for a long time (including and up to 12.10), I get this error:

No debug packages could be found for the files listed below. Do you want to continue anyway?

The following files are listed:

• /usr/lib/libkdeui.so.5
• /usr/lib/libsolid.so.4
• /usr/lib/libkdecore.so.5

Screenshot:

This has been an issue in Kubuntu for years. It happens on fresh installs, on old installs, on every Kubuntu install I've used since at least KDE 4 came out, if not before. There seems to be no way, without these debug packages, to make useful bug reports, because without them, the assistant won't let you finish the report, and thus, bugs go unnoticed.

I cannot believe I'm the only one noticing this. But I don't see any solutions out there from Google. I really want to help report bugs in KDE. Recommendations?

For whatever reason, the United States' FCC doesn't allow wifi users to broadcast on channels 12-14. However, I'm sure the hardware supports it (RTL8188CE). If I'm traveling outside the United States, is there a way to enable the other wifi channels over 11?

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T520 with Nvidia Optimus graphics. Optimus is designed to let you switch between discrete and integrated graphics as needed for performance and battery life.

The BIOS has three options for display: Optimus, Integrated, and Discrete. Integrated and Discrete enable only the Intel or Nvidia chipsets, respectively.

The system boots fine if I selected integrated (or Optimus) graphics in the BIOS, however if I choose Discrete graphics, I'm unable to boot. It appears, weirdly, that when discrete graphics are enabled, Linux is unable to access my hard drive. Here's a screenshot:

Unfortunately, while it appears to dropped to BusyBox, the system is totally unresponsive at that stage and must be rebooted.

The problem persists regardless of whether I've installed Nvidia's drivers, the Open Source Nouveau driver, or both. This is the Nvidia chipset, and the Intel chipset:

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF119 [Quadro NVS 4200M] (rev a1)

So basically, I'd like to use iwconfig to connect to my wifi network when I'm not inside X. But I just don't see a way to do it in the man page. Any idea?

I have a Thinkpad T520 with switchable (Optimus) graphics. The integrated card is Intel, which works great, but won't drive a DVI monitor. The computer also have an NVidia GF119 (Quadro NVS 4200M) which I can set the computer to use full-time in the BIOS.

The problem is, the driver in nvidia-current is awful. It doesn't support xrandr or compositing extensions; I have to configure my monitors using its awful GUI app, then restart X server and hope for the best. Without the proprietary driver, Linux and X seem to be defaulting to a VGA display.

Is there an alternative way to use my Nvidia GPU without using its awful drivers?

I'm contemplating writing a script that does this:

• Goes through each file in /usr/lib
• Does a dpkg -s search on each file.
• Reports a list of "orphan" files not belonging to any .deb package.

The idea is that over time, I've installed a lot of make install software and I'd like to get a list of leftover files from manually installed software I've since deleted.

In xfce, I can run Settings -> Display to change my preferred output monitor. What I haven't found an option for is to have it automatically adjust to a change in available outputs.

For example, if I'm using a DVI display, but undock my laptop, XFCE will not automatically realize that I no longer have a working display and change the output. Gnome did do this, though I'm not sure through what service. I'd like to have some way of making sure I always have at least one working output automatically.

SIDE NOTE: This is related to another question of mine, If I just use a window manager and not a desktop environment, how do I get automatic dock/undock resolution updates?, but is for xfce, not any generic window manager.

I'd like to register keypresses that aren't visible on xev. These are basically "special" keys on my keyboard. If the event does show up on xev, is it possible to get at?

I have two keyboards. One is built-in to my laptop, the other is an external keyboard I use when docked. They have slightly different key mappings for things like multimedia keys.

For that reason, I'd like to make multiple assignments to a handful of keyboard shortcuts. My external keyboard doesn't have a Windows button, so I'd like to launch Unity Dash (for example) using either a Windows/logo button, or to a specific keybinding.

Is there any way to make multiple assignments this way in Gnome?

Gnome and KDE both change resolutions when I dock/undock my laptop.

They seem to do it automatically, more or less, based on the state of the computer. I'd like to have that behavior if I just run something like IceWM or Openbox. Or even XFCE.

Any recommendations?

I maintain a few dozen servers all running Lucid. Setting up a local mirror is probably a good idea anyway, but I also have a unique need.

The (ec2 instance) servers are all configured to get security updates only. That's how I want it. The problem is that when I create a new server/ec2 instance and download packages, those packages are completely current and out-of-sync with the rest of the cluster. I can use Chef to pin explicit package versions, but then minor updates will make whatever we pin unavailable.

So what I'd like to do is this... I want an apt mirror that mirrors the Lucid repository, but only gets security updates, not regular ones. Then by pointing all my servers to that mirror, I can keep everything running the same version, but also avoid unnecessary updates.

Setting up a mirror itself with apt-mirror seems simple enough, but what I'm missing is how to make sure the mirror only does security. How do I setup an apt mirror that only gets and propagates security updates? I feel like I'm missing something obvious.