Experience with Fedora 10 on Dell Vostro 1400

Intro
Since I was in a mood for experimenting and already messed up my Ubuntu setup. I decided to give Fedora 10 a try. I ran network install CD (5 MB ISO download). It took around an hour or two to perform a desktop install with my DSL connection.

On a first look things look superb. Fedora 10 is cosmetically very nicely done. I was extremely happy with the fact that most of the things worked out of the box:

• ethernet
• wireles ethernet
• bluetooth, some issues with reconnecting/pairing.
  
• webcam
• built-in touchpad
• hotkeys
• sound, well almost.
• Dell mediadirect button (still afrad to touch)
  

Internal Digital Mic is NO GO
Sound interface (HDA Intel STAC92xx) appears to be working but not properly recognized as to which volume and properties options to use. With some playing with the controls I got the internal mic to work but with extremely low volume. Mic boost option is never to be found.

I found a variety of comments on the subject: one to edit the modprobe.conf.dist file:
su -c 'nano /etc/modprobe.d/modprobe.conf.dist'

and add the following to the end of the file:
options snd-hda-intel model=dell-stack3

I actually tried all kind of parameters here but I did not get it to work :(
I think the option "model=dell-d82" might be the closest.

On the positive side, analog mic worked. I might keep Fedora on the laptop little longer and use external mic with my Skype.

Bluetooth
Worked out of the box. I have that bult-in interface. The issue I am having with my mouse is that it is nicely connected first time, but Fedora is not connecting to it next time. I had to manually remove it from list of Bluetooth devices and then try to connect it. Not very smooth.

Office and Productivity
I really like the fact that OpenOffice.org3 is pre-installed.

Very fast load and expected better compatibility with MS Office. I installed Adobe Reader, TrueType fonts, Opera, and Skype with no big problems.

Java and Nebeans
I do program i Java and thus prefer to have Sun's JDK. Installed it into /usr/local folder with no issues. Had to adjust alternatives for java command. Downloaded and installed Netbeans 6.5. Works pretty good.

Overall
Spent lots of time trying to configure proper sound device. Sound issue with volume and properties controls turns me off since in Ubuntu 8.04 that worked out of box. I believe in Ubuntu 7.10 a simple change in the model options helped easily, too. Another thing is the stubborn Bluetooth. I did not play with that enough to judge. Might be a minor thing. Due to a fact I can use analog mic I might keep Fedora on for a while. I like the eyecandy and responsivness. It is also a fast boot. Will follow up on the Bluetooth mouse. If you have any input on the sound and internal mic, please reply.

References
http://www.fedoraproject.org
http://www.howtoforge.com/the-perfect-desktop-fedora-10