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Bug Fixed: Bad Things Could Happen Unplugging Your External Backlit Keyboard On Linux

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  • Bug Fixed: Bad Things Could Happen Unplugging Your External Backlit Keyboard On Linux

    Phoronix: Bug Fixed: Bad Things Could Happen Unplugging Your External Backlit Keyboard On Linux

    If you have an external keyboard that features a backlight, particularly on some gaming keyboards, some issues can come up with the current Linux stack if you unplug the keyboard...

    Phoronix, Linux Hardware Reviews, Linux hardware benchmarks, Linux server benchmarks, Linux benchmarking, Desktop Linux, Linux performance, Open Source graphics, Linux How To, Ubuntu benchmarks, Ubuntu hardware, Phoronix Test Suite

  • #2
    Note that to hit this bug, you actually need an external keyboard which exposes a way to control its backlight under /sys/class/leds/foo::kbd_backlight . AFAIK no drivers currently do this.

    I hit this problem when writing drivers to support backlight control using the standard kernel API on the Logitech G15, G15 v2 and G510. These drivers are currently awaiting review upstream.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by hansdegoede View Post
      Note that to hit this bug, you actually need an external keyboard which exposes a way to control its backlight under /sys/class/leds/foo::kbd_backlight . AFAIK no drivers currently do this.

      I hit this problem when writing drivers to support backlight control using the standard kernel API on the Logitech G15, G15 v2 and G510. These drivers are currently awaiting review upstream.
      Awesome thanks for your work !

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      • #4
        Originally posted by hansdegoede View Post
        Note that to hit this bug, you actually need an external keyboard which exposes a way to control its backlight under /sys/class/leds/foo::kbd_backlight . AFAIK no drivers currently do this.

        I hit this problem when writing drivers to support backlight control using the standard kernel API on the Logitech G15, G15 v2 and G510. These drivers are currently awaiting review upstream.
        Ha, this makes the article kind of like a doomsday person standing on the corner. It should have your note in the article, because if it currently doesn't actually affect anybody... what's the point? The bug was fixed before your drivers are even in the kernel.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by leech View Post
          Ha, this makes the article kind of like a doomsday person standing on the corner. It should have your note in the article, because if it currently doesn't actually affect anybody... what's the point? The bug was fixed before your drivers are even in the kernel.
          Yeah, I was scratching my head, too, because I have a backlit keyboard that I use with my laptop and I'd recently tried Linux on it without triggering this particular bug. The bug I did end up hitting and I couldn't seem to get past was (K)ubuntu insisting on setting the damned thing to "powersave" instead of "performance" when on AC power even when you manually force the change (it'd revert a few moments later). I finally gave up and restored Windows 10 for now where I can use the power management tools from the OEM on it.

          But the point is, it's a bug and it needed to be fixed even if no known currently used drivers triggered it.

          Unrelated, I kinda miss my old G15, but I spilled coke on it twice and the second time made some of the regularly used keys sticky enough they were problems. Funny that they never shorted at all, just got sticky.
          Last edited by stormcrow; 04 June 2019, 01:09 PM.

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          • #6
            Separation anxiety bug. =P

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            • #7
              I have a keyboard which it backlit. Fortunately it is possible to turn it off.
              So I have turned the lights off.

              Backlit keyboards are for people who don't know where each key is and can't find the keys in the dark.
              It's not like the keys have moved and is in a different location than they were yesterday. The keys are at the exact same location as they always are, so you don't need to look at the keyboard to type.
              Last edited by tildearrow; 04 June 2019, 03:09 PM.

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              • #8
                Gotta love how robust the high level functionality is. If something doesn't work, never abort. Hammer the CPU and/or fill the memory with crap.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by uid313 View Post
                  Backlit keyboards are for people who don't know where each key is and can't find the keys in the dark.
                  It's not like the keys have moved and is in a different location than they were yesterday. The keys are at the exact same location as they always are, so you don't need to look at the keyboard to type.
                  Just to tell you, I do know where the keys are, but believe it or not the backlighting (at least in my keyboard) generates some heat which sort of helps with this cold climate.
                  Last edited by tildearrow; 04 June 2019, 03:09 PM.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by tildearrow View Post

                    Just to tell you, I do know where the keys are, but believe it or not the backlighting (at least in my keyboard) generates some heat which sort of helps with this cold climate.
                    As a person who used to be bothered a lot by the cold and were always freezing, what helped me was to stop hating the cold and embrace it. Can't run from it, can't fight it. I started doing cold showers and cold baths. This results in the body adapting to the climate through gene expression by producing cold chock proteins.

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