Kubuntu Ubuntu HP Envy 17 3D

I've bought a HP Envy 17 3D laptop this week, the first thing I did before even using it (Just boot Windows to see if it had battery) was format and install Kubuntu Linux on it since I've been using Linux for years now and can't get used to Windows anymore.

The laptop specifications:

• Intel Core i7-2630QM processor 2.00GHz
• 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM system memory
• 1.5TB SATA hard drive
• Blu-ray disc player and SuperMulti DVD burner
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n Wireless LAN
• 17.3" full-HD HP 3D Ultra BrightView Infinity LED display
• Radeon HD 6850M Graphics with 1024MB GDDR5 and up to 4083MB total graphics memory
• HP TrueVision HD webcam with integrated microphone
• 5-in-1 memory card reader
• Bluetooth with Wi-Di
• 1 x USB 3.0 port, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x VGA port, 1 x HDMI port, 1 x headphone-out/microphone-in combo jack, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port
• 6-cell lithium-ion battery, up to 2 hr. 15 min. battery life

The OS specifications:

• I Installed the Lenvyx which is a modified Ubuntu and it improved my battery life almost 70%, plus the laptop doesn't get hot anymore
• Linux Kernel 2.6.38-11-generic
  
• KDE 4.6.2

What's working out of the box:

• Speakers (audio)
• Bluetooth
• Wireless
• Optical Driver, although I haven't tested a Blu-ray disk yet (since I don't have one)
• Keyboard Backlight
• HD Webcam
• HDMI
  
• VGA
• Mics

What I haven't tested yet:

• 3D

What didn't work after a fresh Kubuntu 11.04 installation:

• Audio Volume Controllers
  (They would increase, decrease, and mute but the sound would still be 100%)
  
• Brightness Controll
  
• It doesn't "wake up" after you put it to sleep (like closing the laptop)
• Turning the touchpad On and Off

What I could fix:

• Volume controls
  Right Click on the Kmix icon (system tray icons on the panel) -> Select Master Channel -> Switch from Juniper HDMI to Internal Audio Analog Stereo
• Brightness controls
  I couldn't really set it to work properly but at least I'm able to save some battery now:
  The way around I found is to set the Increase Brightness Shortcut to set the brightness 100% and the decrease to set 50%
  Go to System Settings -> Shortcuts and Gestures -> Custom Shortcuts
  Right click on the "Configure Input Actions settings" left side panel -> New -> Global Shortcut -> Command/URL set a name for it
  Go to the "Trigger" tab click on the "None" button and press the increase brightness key, confirm the dialog that appears and paste: xrandr --output eDP1 --brightness 1.0
  Now do the same with the decrease key and set the command: xrandr --output eDP1 --brightness 0.5
  With some work would be possible to use xrandr to increase and decrease, but for now I'll stay with it
  
• To get Kwin effects I had to disable proprietary ATI/AMD driver
  Applications -> System -> Aditional Drivers click on the driver and then the button "Remove", reboot and you will have Kwin effects
  
• Sleep and Wake Up
  I could not fix it, but again in order to same battery and also be able to close my laptop I configured it to just turn the screen off when closed
  
  

#
# I did try other distros though:
# Ubuntu 11.04 - Work pretty much exactly like Kubuntu
# Kubuntu 11.10 - Same problems
# Mandriva - Did not boot, Graphics problem
# openSUSE - Plasmoid Network Manager doens't work, but internet connection does
# Chakra - Same thing as Kubuntu
# Sabayon - Wouldn't install

#
# I did try the Kernel 3.0 with no changes

#

For now that's all I was able to do, if I find any way to fix any issue I will update this post, as well if I find another problem.

Please let me know if you know how to fix any of the problems =) Thanks