Laptops

This section contains information for people using Kubuntu on a laptop computer.

Power management settings

Changing the power management settings of a laptop may help extend its battery life and reduce energy waste.

  1. Press the power management icon which looks like a battery in the system tray.

  2. Change the settings as appropriate. Changes are applied instantly.

Displaying a screensaver may use more power than simply letting the screen go blank. Turning off the screensaver could slightly improve the laptop battery life. In Kubuntu, the screensaver is set to blank as default.

  1. Open System Settings by going to Kickoff Application LauncherComputerSystem Settings.

  2. Press the Desktop icon.

  3. Press the Screen Saver icon.

  4. Select screen saver and then press Apply.

Touchpads

Most laptop computers come with a touchpad, which is used to control the mouse pointer. There are many ways of changing the way the touchpad behaves. Most basic touchpad settings can be configured in the following way:

  1. Open System Settings by going to Kickoff Application LauncherComputerSystem Settings.

  2. Press the Keyboard and Mouse button.

  3. Press the Touchpad icon.

  4. Make any desired touchpad setting changes. Changes should take effect immediately.

Finding laptop testing reports

Some laptops are tested by the Ubuntu community to ensure that various features work correctly. The results of these tests are available for reading, and may offer insights into any laptop problems.

You can participate in laptop testing yourself by visiting Ubuntu Laptop Testing.