Powerd feedback

[Gary C Martin]

Hi Paul,

On 28 Aug 2009, at 23:48, Paul Fox wrote:

> gary c martin wrote:
>> Running latest F11-for-XO1 (build 6) here on a couple of XOs here  
>> (one
>> XO-B4 and one XO-1, I have another XO-1 for test but the manufacturer
>> fat fingered the serial code in OF so it can't be unlocked), and must
>> say energy saving is working rather well (better than previous XO
>> released solutions).
>> One unexpected UI behaviour (just considering the
>> XO-1 here), is that once a machine sleeps, the only way to wake it is
>> to press and hold the power button:
>
> something sounds wrong here.
>
> to be clear:  when you say "once a machine sleeps", are you
> referring to the power light flashing with screen on?  or with
> screen off?

Screen & backlight off, power led occasional flashing.

> the former we've called "suspend" in the past.  the
> latter we called "sleep", and it was only available manually (lid
> close, or power button).  powerd muddies the waters by entering
> this mode automatically after a longer timeout.

Sleep it is :-)

> by default, the screen should dim at 2 minutes, the laptop should
> suspend 10 seconds later (power light starts flashing), and after
> a total of 4 minutes, the screen should go off (what we called
> sleep mode).
>
> so, assuming you haven't changed the config from the default:

No tweaks, testing with the default (though for someone with reliable  
mains power it is a little keen to dim, suspend, then sleep, but I'm  
more than willing to roll with that given our target audience needs).

>>  - wiggling on the touch pad makes the power light turn, on but does
>> not wake the machine :-(
>>
>>  - pressing keys on the internal keyboard makes the power light turn
>> on, but does not wake :-(
>
> if the screen is still on, either of the above should awaken the
> laptop.

Yep, if the screen is still on, a keypad wiggle or button press  
awakens as expected.

> if the screen is off, neither should cause wakeup, but nor
> should they cause the power light to come on on.

With screen off and power light blinking, the power light comes one  
during mouse wiggle or key press, giving the expectation that the  
machine should wake.

>> Pressing and holding the power button works to awaken the machine,  
>> but
>> leaves me with the thoughts:
>
> if the screen is on, the power button should bring up the
> powerdown graphical "menu".  if the screen is off, the power
> button should awaken the display (and pressing it a second
> time will bring up the menu).

Yep.

>>  - if I just tap the button, nothing happens, I have to hold for a
>> good moment or so
>
> the amount of time required for the power button to be recognized
> should not have changed from any previous release.  that's
> controlled by EC firmware.  (and it's always been possible to tap
> it so briefly that it doesn't register, but i'd guess that's not
> what you're describing.)
>
>>
>>  -  but if I press the button down for too long, I loose all my work
>> as the machine will hard shut down.
>
> yes.  we'd like to avoid that.  :-)

Yep :-)

> if what you're seeing doesn't fit what i've described (and it doesn't
> sound like it does), i guess we have some debugging to do.


Well it sounds like – from your description of expectations – sleep is  
the one not doing what's expected. With the screen and backlight off,  
and power light occasionally blinking, wiggling the mouse or pressing  
keys should not make the power light come on. I guess this means the  
keyboard and trackpad are still all powered up during sleep when they  
should be off.

Is there some duty cycle I can log that would be useful?

Regards,
--Gary