Webcam not working on Thinkpad E520

[Daniel Wayne Armstrong]

On Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 5:10 PM, D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> | From: Daniel Wayne Armstrong <daniel-HRJVlgn2G/y5aS82P/H3Zg at public.gmane.org>
>
> | When running VLC failed to display video I suspected - combined with
> | the webcam/desktop freezes - there might be a deeper problem with the
> | X environment. I checked to see if there was a more recent Xorg
> | package in Debian backports ... there is. Replacing the default Xorg
> | and Intel driver in Squeeze with the backported versions + the
> | backported kernel resolved the issue.
>
> This is the kind of thing that scares me away from Debian.
>
> I like it when the distro takes care of me.
>
> I will admit:
>
> - my trust in Fedora and Ubuntu has not always been justified.
>
> - I'm being a bit like a Windows user: if it is broken, someone
>  else will fix it or it will stay broken.
>
> I'd like to be braver.
>
> How do you keep aware of backports?  How do you decide whether to use
> one?

Debian backports repository - a selection of packages backported to
the Debian stable release - is not included in a default Debian
install. A user can add it to the package manager and choose which
packages they would like to install. The package manager can show what
different versions of a package are available for install and the user
can specify their choice.

I like to use it for adding more recent kernels and the latest
Iceweasel/Firefox. Once a backported package and its dependencies are
installed its tracked for updates like any other package.

My hiccup with the backport kernel arose because the kernel does not
rely on Xorg as a dependency ... so I was running the default, older
version in stable. Usually this wouldn't pose a problem but with this
particular combination of hardware and software it did.
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